Consume the Darkness, Return it to Light
by Kiri Kaitou Clover
Summary: In the Wizarding World, reincarnation was relatively unknown. But Harry is one, and so are a few others. So who were they? And how are they going to change the Wizarding World as we know it? Warning! May contain slash(despite the friendship genre) and slight character bashing!
1. A Scattered Dream, But a Far Off Memory

**(18/9/2014) PLEASE READ, CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED. MAY CONTAIN CHANGES!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Harry Potter in any way. If I did, Kairi would be completely out of the picture. So would Ginny. But since that can't happen, I don't own it!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1 Reboot: A Scattered Dream, But a Far Off Memory<strong>

Harry woke up with a start, throat hoarse from the screaming he had done. As he panted, trying to regain his breath, Harry looked around the room and ensured that Ron was still snoring away. Sighing in relief that he hadn't woken the red head or anyone else in the house (Remus and Sirius in particular, considering their sharp hearing) with his screams, he muttered out, "They're getting worse..."

They, referred to his dreams. Dreams about _cedricmothergreenlightdementorsdeath_. But those were more recent. Even before his fourth year, he would often wake up to his own screams that were result of his strange nightmarish dreams, 'Or were they memories?' as Harry often wondered, of darkness, keys, a graveyard (Voldemort's resurrection didn't help with that), maddened orange eyes, light fading, and a sky. A sky that sat on a white throne, sleeping so soundly and about to be filled with darkness. Harry never did understand why he screamed the loudest for the last so often, screams that were often laden with fear and desperation.

But with those nightmares came good dreams. Dreams of a sunny island, a star shaped fruit, of wooden swords, play fighting, jealousy, and sitting on a beach staring at the wide open sky as stars fell. Dreams of a person he spent the most time with, one with sky blue eyes shining with light, laughter and love, bringing warmth and joy to his heart. Dreams of those same blue eyes shedding happy tears while hugging him like his life depended on it.

The dreams had been oddly active during his most recent stay with the Dursleys, leading to his 'uncle' (Harry used the term loosely. He never did consider the man family.) banging on the door to his room whenever his screams forced them awake. But the Dementor attack on him just made it worse, since the memories brought forth weren't those of his mother's death or those of the graveyard, but those of his dreams, in particular the one about the white throne. The feelings of helplessness, and the feelings of rage. Some how, he was able to push back the Dementor using a Patronus, but for some reason, the happy memory that brought it forth were those of the blue eyed sky.

Before Harry could comprehend what had occurred, Mrs Figg had appeared and taken him back to the Dursleys, he almost gets expelled, and days later, was retrieved and brought to Sirius' home. Rather upset about the information blackout and still sleep deprived, Harry had lost his temper with both Ron and Hermione, scaring them both. It was only thanks to the twins that he managed to calm down, knowing that he could depend on the two. And that was before he attempted to ask for some information on the on goings of the Order of the Phoenix. He fully relaxed when both Sirius and Remus gave _some_ of the news he had been trying to find during the time at the Dursleys. It wasn't much, but he understood that with Voldemort laying low, he wouldn't have attempted to broadcast that he was alive.

With that, his first few days in Grimmauld Place passed by relatively fast…

At least before this recent bout of nightmares.

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><p>Fed up with his dreams messing up with sleep cycle, Harry quietly made his way to Buckbeak's room, knowing the hippogriff's presence would keep most of the Order members outside of Moody, Sirius and Remus out of the room. He hoped that he would be comforted in the presence of Buckbeak, that his dreams would not disturb him once he closed his eyes. However, Harry had not expected Sirius to be sleeping in the room, let alone wake up when he heard the soft closing of the door.<p>

"Hn… Harry? What are you… *yawn* still doing up?" Sirius mumbled sleepily as he stretched from where he had been sleeping, which was underneath one of Buckbeak's wings.

Blushing over the fact that he had been caught, Harry just looked to the side and mumbled that he had been having nightmares. His godfather gave him an understanding look and helped Harry settle himself under Buckbeak's other wing, the hippogriff opening one eye before returning to sleep once they stopped moving his wings, curling his wings around the two.

Harry, knowing that Sirius would end up asking him about his dreams in the morning, closed his eyes as he heard the dog animagus fall back to sleep, resolving himself to telling the man about the dreams when they both awoke.

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><p>The next morning led to the whole house scrambling in search of Harry, with only Remus having some idea as to where he was, but he was not telling them any time soon. The ruckus woke the two in Buckbeak's room, and a rather irate Harry yelled at them all for making so much noise in the morning. In the end, only Sirius, Remus and the twins were able to approach him after his outburst, never asking where he had been the entire night.<p>

Of course, the conversation with Fred and George consisted of going through prank ideas and wondering about who the Marauders were (Harry tried to hide his snickers at the rather pale look Remus and Sirius had when they overheard that topic). But when they made their way into Buckbeak's room, Harry was rather startled when their normally cheerful faces turned serious.

"Sorry about herding you here, Harry – "

"But we needed to get you some where that we could have a private chat."

"Hope you don't mind."

Harry just looked on in confusion as Fred ensured that no one else was following them before locking the door and George cast a privacy spell. Harry sighed, "Okay, why is it that you need to talk to me? It's not about the shop right?"

"Nope, not really," said Fred.

"But it does concern you," continued George, pointing at him. Harry just gestured the two to explain.

"It wasn't something we were fully aware of until third year…"

"But… please be wary of Ron and Ginny."

"Their intentions to be exact!"

"Those two have been obsessed with fame and fortune since they were kids – "

"And we know for a fact that having been told stories about you didn't help. Ginny's obsessed with marrying you."

"Your fourth year was a good example of how Ron normally is when fame comes into play – "

"A jealous, bullying, prat."

"We care for you like a brother,"

"So we just wanted to warn you to be careful what you do around them, 'kay?"

Harry stared at the two, wondering if it was yet another joke. But he had been friends with them for the past few years, plus, unlike their brother, stayed supportive of him despite whatever was said about him. He knew Fred and George would not lie to him about something like this. Nodding at the two, Harry thanked them, "While I'm a little confused as to what brought this about, I'll take your warning into consideration. I'll be careful."

Grinning at each other, Fred and George turned to Harry replied as one, "Just ask as if you need any help!"

The two then made their way out of the room, ending the privacy spell, the foxy grins plastered on their face causing the Order member that were in the house to become wary.

Harry sighed, filing the way the warning the twins just gave him and made a mental note to check if Ron had been acting oddly during the past few years. He then left the room and headed to the Black family library, knowing that Sirius would be there hiding away from the rest of the Order (Again. He barely interacted with anyone outside Remus, the twins, Hermione, and Harry himself!).

Apparently it was a good thing they were in the library at the time. Harry told Sirius about his memory like dreams and surprisingly enough, Sirius actually recognised the pattern somewhat. Remus, who had walked in on their conversation earlier, seemed to recognize it as well, only to keep his mouth shut when Sirius mentioned a book explaining the entire situation within the library itself, rather surprised by Sirius' knowledge of the topic as well.

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><p><em><strong>Past Dreams, How to deal with Reincarnation<strong>_. Reincarnation. Was his godfather crazy? Reincarnation didn't exist! Or did it? Harry decided to indulge the man, only to find that the book that Sirius gave him clearly listed the signs of having been reincarnated, particularly reoccurring dreams that felt more like memories.

Further reading indicated that there was a way for his past self to merge with him, giving him the abilities and form of his past self. The book itself mentioned that Gringotts was one of the places that still knew how to perform the ritual that merged past and present selves. Knowing he still needed more information on what would happen to him after the ritual (It wasn't written in the book, oddly enough.), he managed to sneak out of Grimmauld Place with Sirius and Remus' help, with Fred and George providing cover with a storm of pranks that triggered every few minutes.

The goblins were informative. They were quite surprised (And suspicious, they never liked to trust wizards with such information) that he was inquiring about reincarnation, but once he mentioned that he had been having a large number of odd dreams unrelated to his current self even before he began Hogwarts, they took the matter more seriously. Reincarnation was rare, and ever regaining memories of their past life in the form of dreams was even rarer. They did mention that they found it odd that cases of reincarnation had been happening quite often recently, hence their distrust at first. Harry then asked what happened to those people after the ritual and the goblins assured Harry that fully regaining those memories did not push the memories of their current life to the back of his mind.

He returned to Grimmauld Place just as the chaos settled, allowing him to sneak back in unnoticed. Harry went over the information with Sirius, Remus and the twins, hoping for some of their opinions on the topic. Harry would have been disadvantaged if the nightmares continued to cause him to loose sleep, and Fred and George pointed out that if he did merge with his past self, he would gain the entire repertoire of spells his past self had in his arsenal. Both Sirius and Remus warned him that his appearance would change (Both looked at each other confused at how the other even knew that but kept quiet.), but Harry felt that would have been a relief. He hated being identified so easily in the Wizarding World.

A few days later, two days before his trail, Harry made his way back to Gringotts (This time relying on a Polyjuiced Sirius to hide his disappearance.) and requested that his memories be fully unlocked. The process itself would take three long hours, but in the end, Harry felt that it would be worth it. Harry then slipped into a deep sleep, signalling the beginning of the ritual that would merge his past and present selves.

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><p><strong>I really shouldn't be doing this but I did it anyway. Yet another crossover and fanfic when I already have quite a few to write. Oh well.<strong>

**It's yet another Harry reincarnation fic, but slightly different in some way. For one thing, the fandom used is not any of the ones commonly used for a such a fic. For another, only certain characters are reincarnated, not almost the whole main cast like it was in some FF7/HP crossovers. Not mocking those though. I love all of the FF7/HP crossovers, especially Donum Deae by Lord Shinta! This fic was slightly inspired by those fics.**

**By the way, don't mind the sloppy explanation over the reincarnation bit. The heart works in weird ways, so I'll actually blame my messy reincarnation explanation on it instead. In fact, I will most likely do that at some point of this story.**

**Hope people will read and review this first chapter! Plus make a guess who got reincarnated into Harry this time! Its kinda obvious, but guess on anyway! Now to find who else to reincarnate...**

***Spoiler!***

**Sora is definitely not being reincarnated into any of the HP characters. Its for plot purpose! But he HAS reincarnated into the HP timeline and world, just not as anyone Harry knows.**

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><p><strong>EDITED (189/2014)**

**YES YES AND HELL YES! Finished rewriting this chapter! It was a freaking pain to rewrite it, but I found it worse reading that really short chapter 1 I gave you all after I began writing chapters with more than 1500 words. It doesn't affect the plot much, but I've added several things to the fic itself. **

**Change Log:**

**1. Added a brief summary of the Dementor attack  
><strong>**2. Introduction to the Order of the Orange Peacock(I felt that Fried Chicken was a little over done, and no insult to Fawkes, but phoenixes do look a lot like peacocks.).  
><strong>**3. Gave Harry a reason to tell Sirius about the dreams  
><strong>**4. Conversation with the twins regarding Ron and Ginny, which they make a reference to Percy's chapter, but it can be the other way around  
><strong>**5. Remus BEING there when Harry tells Sirius.  
><strong>**6. The reincarnation explanation follows the original first chapter, not much changes, but I added Sirius, Remus and the twins discussing with Harry about the advantages and disadvantages of enacting the ritual.**

**Overall, I've tried to fill in all the plot holes I left in the first chapter, and made it much longer. It also fills in some of the issues in the later chapters… I'll probably post the second chapter rewrite in a while… **


	2. Ritual of Awakening, Aftermath, Surprise

**Disclaimer: Don't own the series Kingdom Hearts or Harry Potter, or else KH will go through anime worlds instead of Disney, and HP will have more forms of magic available!**

**(18/9/2014) PLEASE READ, CHAPTER HAS BEEN EDITED. MAY CONTAIN CHANGES!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Ritual of Awakening, Aftermath and Surprises<strong>

Even in though he was sure he had been put to sleep, Harry found it strange that he was floating aimlessly in a dark space, dark clouds, some flickering with signs of lightning, hovering above him. He ended up floating head first into one of the clouds, and a glimpse of Sirius' rescue flashed in front of him. Harry blinked in surprise.

"Huh, my memories are represented by storm clouds? Funny. Bad ones must be the clouds that look like lightning's about to flash down," he muttered as he floated out of the cloud, face damp. Then it happened.

A wave of glowing bubbles started accending from below him, floating up to fill the darkness that surrounded him. Taking a look at one of them, he was surprised to see one of the dream like memories within the bubble. Understanding that it was his past self's memories, he knew it would not be a good idea to attempt to pop the bubble lest he lose that memory.

Instead, he began to sort the memories. The Ritual only brought his memories forward and changed him physically. According to the goblins, it was up to him to sort them properly. He blinked when white clouds appeared above him while the memory bubbles floated around him. Taking one of the bubbles containing a happy memory (It was glowing sky blue, like that boy's eyes!), he brought it towards the white cloud and slowly, the white cloud turned dark, a sky blue glow surrounding it. He then took one bubble with an eerie black glow and did the same, and the cloud once again turned dark, this time, with a rumbling of thunder as the black glow settled around the cloud. Seeing the pattern, Harry began to slowly sort each of the bubbles into their clouds.

It was at the end of the sorting process that he came across a crack that let small whisps of a Adava Kadavra green mist. Allowing himself to float towards it, Harry gave a snarl when he realised that the mist contained the images of that corridor he had been seeing once every few nights. The sudden surge of emotion though, triggered a rush of purplish black and bluish white, both wrapping around the mist and forcing it back through the crack. Harry felt a sudden surge of throbbing pain as the mist was slowly forced out.

Then the black wave reared back and slammed into the crack, and black flames began licking out of the entrance of the crack. The suddeness of it all caused Harry to scream out in pain, feeling the effects, oddly enough. A second scream echoed along side him, slowly getting softer as the blueish white wave sealed the cracks once the black wave exited it, leaving nothing but black where the crack once was.

As the pain ebbed, Harry collapsed, darkness taking him as his memories were fully integrated in him.

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><p>When Riku, <em>'Harry,' he had to remind himself,<em> woke up, it was to a searing pain on his forehead, right where his scar was. Rubbing the area, he turned to one of the goblins that were cleaning up the runes that made up the Ritual of Awakening, and asked, "I thought the ritual was supposed to be painless. What happened?"

The goblin stopped his work to look at him in surprise before saying, "At some point during the ritual you started screaming. We almost stopped the ritual right there. It was a second scream that made us decide not to stop the ritual, a scream originating from your scar."

Riku _'Harry! Darn it, I'm going to have to get used to this!'_ raised his eyebrow at this statement, and asked, "My scar?"

The goblin just sighed, "I don't know who was crazy enough to split his soul seven times, but some how, some way, your scar became a horcrux. This is the first time we've seen a living horcrux, but for some reason, during the Ritual of Awakening, that soul piece was destroyed by what looked like dark fire."

At the mention of a split soul, Harry's _'Oh to the Darkness with this. I'll refer myself as Riku but still answer to Harry.' _memories of his second year immediately came to the front of his mind, memories of him driving a basilisk fang into a diary, with a younger Voldemort screaming curses at him as what seemed to be a shade of his memory faded away.

_'Crap,'_ Riku thought, paling at the revelation, before thinking through further and deciding, '_Better keep this to myself as a trump card should I need it.'_

The goblin whom he spoke to before then questioned, "Do you wish to take a test to see what magics you have inherited from your previous life? Judging by the reflexive conjuring of that dark fire in your unconscious state, they may be quite powerful."

Riku just looked at him and agreed, "Why not? It's not like I will truly be able to know what magics I have retained from my previous life unless I do the test."

"That would cost you 10 galleons in addition of the 30 galleons for the Ritual of Awakening, thus coming to a total of 40 galleons." The goblin declared, giving Riku a toothy grin as the boy shook his head, thinking, _'Why, I am not surprised that they would demand payment for this.'_

As the boy got up, he saw a nearby mirror and decided to take a look at the changes in his appearance. He was surprised by the change in height for one. He had been shorter as Harry, but now that both of them had merged, Riku had grown taller. The other surprise was his hair, which had straightened out and taken on Riku's former silver hair color, with streaks of black intermingling with them. His eyes had not changed much, while it had gained a slightly bluish tint, under the right lighting, it still looked emerald green. Internally, the part that was Harry was relieved that his eyes had not changed much as it was the only thing that remained of his mother. Though, he realised he would not need his glasses anymore, as his horrid eyesight had somehow repaired itself during the ritual. The last change, of course, was the rapidly fading lighting shaped scar on his fore head.

_'Wow, I really doubt most people would recognise me as Harry Potter anymore with this many changes to my appearance,'_ Riku thought while imagining the reactions of those people when he told them he was Harry Potter, before chuckling under his breath.

Another goblin, seeing that he had gotten used to the changes in his appearance, quickly ushered him to another room within Gringotts, before setting down an empty parchment on the table

"What's this for?" Riku questioned, confused as to what they were about to do.

"Oh this? I need you to add a few drops of blood to the parchment. Its been specially made to reveal any magical abilities you have aquired when blood is applied," The goblin explained, urging Riku to do it as quickly as possibly, handing him a small knife.

Taking the knife, Riku lightly cut his finger, and let the blood drip onto the parchment. As the blood soaked into the parchment, words started to appear revealling to him information on his newly aquired magical abilities

Name: Harry James Potter(Formerly Riku Reimei)  
>Age: 16 (Soul Age: Unknown)<br>Current Wand: 11 inches, Holly, Phoenix Feather (Due to changes in magical core, current wand is no longer suitable for spell casting)  
>Core: Even split between light and dark. (Has changed from originally light core. May require wand replacement)<br>Abilities:  
>Wizarding Magic(Partial to DADA and Dark Arts, no mastery in any)<br>Parsel Magic (Magical Inheritance through Tom Marvolo Riddle's Horcrux)  
>Ability to summon Keyblade (Inherited from Keyblade Wielder Terra)<br>Enhanced Physical Capabilities  
>One-Handed Sword Fighting (FULLY MASTERED)<br>Dark Elemental Magic (FULLY MASTERED)  
>Elemental Magic(All forms, no mastery in any)<br>Light Magic (FULLY MASTERED)  
>Wandless Magic Manipulation (FULLY MASTERED)<br>Balance of Light and Darkness (FULLY MASTERED)  
>Recognised Keyblade Master (Trained and Recognised by Master Yen Sid)<p>

It was a short list, but it summed up Riku's abilities and Harry's abilities perfectly. Though, he was surprised that his current wand no longer suited him. _'Maybe I should go to Olivander's to understand why,' _Riku contemplated.

Before he got up to leave, the goblin stopped him, and reminded him, "Mister Potter? Payment?"

Blushing at forgetting something so obvious, Riku took out his money pouch, only to realise there was not enough Galleons in it. Turning to the goblin, he asked, "Is it possible to make the payment straight from the vault? I don't have enough money on me at the moment."

Sneering at his carelessness, the goblin replied, "Yes you can make a payment from the vault, just give me the key."

Mentally relieved that Sirius had manage to swipe his key away from Mrs Weasley, Riku handed the goblin the key. However...

"This is a copy! Mister Potter shouldn't you have the real key with you?"

At those words, Riku just looked at the goblin in surprise, and said, "But this is the only key I have."

The goblin's eye's immediately widened, mouthing out loud 'only?' before cursing in it's own language, before informing Riku, "The original should never have left your hands! And what do you mean that's your only key?! You should have had the keys with you even as a child! I'll alert the goblins in charge of your vaults to destroy the missing keys and any copies and issue you new ones." The goblin then took the key it had and destroyed it with its own magic. "We'll give you the new key before you leave this bank. I assume you are using your trust vault for this?"

Riku, still rather taken aback that he orignally had several vaults and was missing all their keys, quickly said yes. He was led out of the office and back to the main hall, and snapped out of his shocked daze as he was handed his new set of keys by a goblin that Riku definitely recognised. "We've already taken out payment for the ritual from the vault. Don't loose this set, since this will be the only time we replace the keys for you!" The goblin then immediately stalked off muttering about careless wizards.

Riku looked at the goblin before shouting at it with a slight smirk on his face, " Thanks, Griphook!" and tried his best not to snicker as the goblin turned around in complete shock at being thanked. Reactions from the other patrons to the bank were just as funny. Hiding his face to stiffle his laughter, Riku walked out of the bank, and headed to Olivanders, where he would hopefully find a wand more compatible with him, and understand why his holly wand would no longer work for him.

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><p><strong>My muse has been working overtime for this! At first I wanted this chapter to go straight into Riku's trial, but then I realised I needed to explain the aftermath of the Ritual of Awakening, thus this chapter ended up Gringotts centric. The next chapter will be about his wands. And after that is his trial and another reincarnated person. Who? Its a surprise! The person I chose is an odd one, but it suits the circumstances that I shall orchestrate during this fic.<strong>

**Btw, there shall be three OC characters I shall use as reincarnations. I will not reveal their names just yet, as they shall only appear sometime before 6th year.**

**Reimei means Dawn - Way to Dawn is Riku's signature keyblade, hence I use that name as his surname.**

**52 views, 4 faves and 4 alerts in the span of one day, thats a new record for me! Thanks to SleepyMangaHead for reviewing!**

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><p><strong>EDITED 189/2014, PLEASE READ!**

**Yup, part 2 of the rewrite. Here's the change log :**

**1. Added a little more insight on the Ritual of Awakening. Its basically forcing you into your mind as your body sleeps while it absorbs the new memories. You have to sort out your memories by yourself. I've given Harry storm clouds to store his memories, worse ones being thunder clouds. Then the glow glow stuff... Their Riku's memories. Bad ones associated with the color of darkness, good ones associated with the color of Sora's eyes.  
><strong>**2. Added some bits on both his light and darkness attempting to repair the crack in his mind due to the Horcrux, and suceeding in doing that AND destroying said Horcrux.  
><strong>**3. Core – Decided to give him the core details early.  
><strong>**4. Balance of Light and Darkness – Extra mastery skill for Riku.  
><strong>**5. Changed some small bits regarding his vaults. I realised I didn't write in the bit about Riku only having ONE of his vault keys. Edited that in.**

**Other than those, there isn't really too much changes on this chapter other than that LARGE chunk at the beginning. Hopefully the story flows better like this...**

**Please tell me how you feel about the changes in both chapters in the AN regarding the two chapter rewrites!**


	3. Wands

**AN: For just 2 chapters, I have gathered 15 individuals who have faved and/or followed this fic. Wow… Getting teary eyed here… **

**In case anyone asks, there's a reason why I didn't go into the by now clichéd plot idea of Dumbledore stealing of Harry's money straight away during the previous chapter. 1. Its overdone. 2. Riku is way more Slytherin than Harry ever was, so he won't reveal the fact that he has the upper hand just yet. There will be some mention of this in this chapter 3. Riku is the type to silently brood over the facts that he is given, or discuss it with someone he trusts.**

**I added two more people to my list of reincarnated people. They played a part in the KH world but never got a chance to meet each other, despite coming from the same series. Let me say this: One can become his nickname and the other can now turn into the animal he has obsessed about. I was about to place their confrontation in this chapter when I realised this chapter was going to end up quite long, so I decided to put that bit in another chapter. This is one is Riku centric again. The two other reincarnations are appearing in their own chapter, i.e. a slight interlude before going back to Riku. **

**Disclaimer: Do I have to say it again? *Sigh* I don't own KH or HP.**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 3: Wands<strong>_

It was awfully easy getting to Ollivanders' unnoticed. Harry no longer looked like his former self, hence easily blended in with the crowd. Silver hair, while uncommon, was easily written off as a metamorphmagus ability or a mishap with the colour changing charm.

As Riku made it out of the crowd and into Ollivanders', he immediately took care of his surroundings. Similar to his first visit, boxes lined the shelves in the shops, each, as Riku now knew, containing a different wand.

"This place hasn't changed much," Riku muttered as he looked around.

"Of course it would not have, Mister Potter. You, however have changed greatly since your first visit here."

At voice, Riku jumped in surprise, reflexively summoned the Way to Dawn and pointed it in the voice's direction. What he saw though was not an enemy, but Mr Ollivander, the man's two hands in a placating gesture. With that Riku relaxed and dismissed his Keyblade, saying to the man, "Sir, please don't scare me like that, I could have hurt you."

Ollivander just gave a knowing smile, and replied, "But you wouldn't, since you would need me to make you a new wand, young Keyblade Master."

Riku quirked an eyebrow at the old man's knowledge of the Keyblade, but decided not to question why and how he had such information. Instead, he decided to ask, "How did you know I needed a new wand, sir? I didn't even say anything about it."

Ollivander just took his measuring tape and let it measure out every part of Riku's body, and said while taking out boxes of wands, "The only time one would be in need of a new wand is when they have broken their wand to the point it cannot be repaired, or when their magical core has gone through a sudden change that their magical orientation would no longer suit their current wand. Your need is due to the latter." He stops the measuring tape wandlessly, and places down the boxes of wands he gathered.

"So why am I no longer compatible with my wand?" asked Riku.

"Young man, a holly and phoenix feather core wand is a strongly light oriented wand. Your core during your first trip to my shop was just that."

"And now?"

"Now? Now it's an odd mixture of both light and dark, with darkness being slightly dominant to the light. Your wand will not work for any core with darkness in it. Now tell me, is your wand hand still the same?"

"Yes?"

"Try this 13", ash, dragon heartstring, slightly pliant"

A wave. *CRASH! BANG!*

"Not this one, here. 12", hawthorn and dragon heart string, springy."

Another wave. *ZAP!*

"Not that one either…"

An hour later…

"Hmm, so far the only compatible wand wood is vinewood. Maybe with a more exotic core… Aha! Here, try this. 13" vinewood with basilisk scale core, unyielding," said Ollivander as he shoved said wand into Riku's hand.

Waving the wand, Riku felt a slight tug on his magic, and the results were surprising. Instead of the violent reactions he had been getting with all the other wands, small little flickers of light and specks of darkness floated around him. Ollivander was just as surprised, muttering out, "Curious."

Riku just turned to him and inquired, "What's so curious?"

The man just shook his head and replied, "I thought your wand would be a more balanced one, with no preference to light or dark, similar to your magical core. While this was the case for your wand wood, the core is more suited for darker magics than anything."

Ollivander continued explaining, "That particular wand was passed to me my grandfather, who had been given a piece of basilisk skin by a group of hunters. He forged that particular wand. A wand suited for one whose personality has hidden depths and dark pasts that they have overcome, he told me."

'_Hidden depths and dark pasts huh? I guess my overprotective side for my friends and my inner darkness counts as that,'_ Riku thought, before asking Ollivander, "How much do I owe you?"

"Since the wand is to replace your old one, 8 galleons. I suggest you keep your old wand. Who knows, someone might be more compatible to it than you are!"

Paying the old man and taking note of his advice, Riku nodded the man goodbye, before making his way out of Diagon Alley and back to Grimmauld Place, hoping to get back in unnoticed.

'_I hope the Polyjuice potion the twins made for Sirius is holding up…'_ Riku thought, grimacing at the possibility of being found out or being yelled at by Mrs Weasely.

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><p><strong>Damn my muse for giving me more ideas today! It's on overdrive! <strong>

**Read and Review! **


	4. ItB 1

**Disclaimer: TO HELL WITH THIS! JUST REFER TO THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS FOR THE DISCLAIMER! ISN'T IT OBVIOUS I DON'T OWN THE RESPECTIVE SERIES?! … … Whoops. Did it anyway.**

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><p><em><strong>In the Background 1: Puppy and Chocobo, Reunited<strong>_

_Back at No 12, Grimmauld Place,_

"What is taking Harry so long? He said he'd be back in about four hours!" Sirius, having been Polyjuiced to look like Harry, grumbled to Remus, who was laughing at the man's predicament. "It's a miracle they haven't figured out Harry's missing yet and it's me under Polyjuice!"

"Well you did make a big ruckus about wanting to be left alone by the rest of our current house mates. They all assumed that you are holed up in Buckbeak's room," Remus replied, before teasing him cheekily, "I didn't think you would know what to do when Harry came to you for advice. I was actually going to say something to him regarding the subject but you pulled him into the library before I could. Looks like you do have some knowledge there in that head of yours!"

At that, the Polyjuiced Sirius snorted, and replied, "The only reason I knew about that book was because I experienced the same things as Harry did when I was in 5th year. It was the other reason why I even ran to James in the first place! My core had changed from a dark core with capability of light magic to a light core with little to no ability to use dark magic. My mother would have killed me if she ever found out!" Then thinking back to what Remus said, Sirius turned to question him, "And what about you? How do you know about reincarnation? It's Pureblood only knowledge!"

Remus just smiled sadly, "I had been given the full brunt of memory like dreams right after I got bitten and turned into a werewolf. During first year, I looked through the library for any information on such dreams, since they were a lot more frequent than those who did not have possible means to trigger the memories from surfacing. I stumbled upon a book detailing about the type of dreams one could get one day. That book gave information on how strong detailed and interconnecting dreams were often memories of past lives and how to bring those memories fully to the surface. One trip to Gringotts did the trick."

Sirius just blinked at the new information he received and said, "Huh. You learn something new everyday. So how did you hide this from us? No glamor charm would be perfect in hiding changes in appearance."

"You first," Remus countered.

Sighing, Sirius relented and explained, "Fine. I used magic to change my hairstyle and got coloured contacts. My hair was originally naturally spiked backwards and my eyes were blue in colour. The rest was a permanent glamor charm set for the face casted on my contact lenses. Had to take them off before taking the Polyjuice though"

"My turn. I did the same as you for the hair, and had a permanent glamor charm casted on an earring I keep in my pockets set for my face as well. My hair, like yours, was naturally spiked, and blond instead of brown. As for my eyes, they were naturally blue, but because of my werewolf side, the eye color bled through and turned it green."

Blinking again at the description, Sirius wondered out loud, "Wonder why Moody didn't mention it. He didn't say anything about mine 'cause I told him when I joined the Aurors. He pretty much kept hexing me till I explained, that paranoid bastard."

The werewolf just laughed, "So that's why he was not surprised when I told him about reincarnation during the first war! The book and Gringotts goblins mentioned it was rare, but I wasn't expecting the two of us and Harry to be reincarnations!"

Sirius just grinned widely as Remus laughed.

However, when Remus opened his eyes from the laughter, he stopped laughing. Instead his eyes widened and Remus gasped in shock, staring at Sirius' left cheek before looking carefully at his face, as if Remus had seen a ghost. Sirius, curious as to why his friend started acting like that, questioned, "Remus? Is there something on my face? Did the potion wear off?" At that last question he hurriedly looked for the bottle containing the Polyjuice, only for Remus to make him freeze as he said a name with complete shock in his voice. A name he only heard his friends from his past call him by.

"Zack?"

Sirius stood stock still at that.

"Zack? That is you right? Please speak to me!"

At those words, Sirius made an animalistic growl at Remus, the side of him that was his animagus form leaking through to his human side, "Glamor. Off. Right now."

Remus, with a strange look on his face, undid the spell on his hair. He also slowly reached into his right pant pocket, took out an earring shaped like a wolf's head holding another ring in its mouth, and tossed it to the other side of the room. The glamor immediately fell.

Sirius' jaw dropped. In front of him, Chocobo hairstyle and all, was the one friend he never thought he'd see again. After his first reincarnation without finding him, the former First Class Soldier had almost given up all hope of finding the blond when he had been reincarnated for the second time. Staring at him, he whispered out, "Chocobo-head?"

*Bam!*

"OW! Cloud! What was that for?!" Sirius complained while rubbing his head.

Remus just put away the frying pan (_Sirius: Where did you get that from…_) that he had used to hit Sirius on the head, huffing in annoyance, "Not a chocobo, Zack! I've told you time and time again that I hate that nickname."

Inwardly though, Remus was smiling at the familiarity of their argument. When he saw the scar on Sirius' face appearing as the Polyjuice potion wore off, he had though he was dreaming. But when his eyes shifted from the scar to the rest of the face, the Polyjuice had worn off, and in front of him was puppy he could never find in his last life even though the flower girl had ended up in the same world he had ended up in. Between fighting Sephiroth, running away from Tifa and helping the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee clear the world from Heartless and Nobodies, Cloud rarely had any free time. When he did though, he would spend days scouring the worlds for the puppy. He had found evidence of him at Olympus Coliseum, where Zack had placed as one of the few competitors, but not once did he ever reappear in that world. Like Zack, he had almost given up hope with his second reincarnation.

*Bok!* "OW! Cloud!"

Remus blushed slightly when he realised he had reflexively whacked Sirius on the head again, this time with a struggle bat that he had conjured, when the man had tried to glomp him.

"Zack, take the Polyjuice already! We'll catch up later! I don't want anyone to come in and see us like–" And Remus' nagging was interrupted by the door slamming open.

"Sirius! Quickly switch with… me?"

A shocked black and silver haired teen, stood at the door way, hand in the middle of removing an invisibility cloak as he stared at the two men. Recognising the voice, Sirius, shocked at how the boy looked so similar to Sephiroth, squeaked out his question, "Harry?!"

"Who? Wait, that voice! Sirius?! What the hell!" Harry just screeched in surprise, then his gaze turned to the only blond in the room before reacting even more surprised. "Cloud?!"

In response, Remus could react as calmly as he could, even if he was just as surprised as the rest of them, "Riku? You were reincarnated as Harry?"

Sirius, becoming even more surprised, shouted, "Wait, you two know each other?! How?!"

Well, this little gathering is becoming extremely awkward…

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><p><strong>AN: I made it really obvious in the previous chapter who the reincarnations were this time a round. I was really upset when I saw Zack, but no Cloud, Sephiroth, Angeal, or Genesis while I watched cutscenes of KH:BBS. I was like, "Wait! Why aren't the other four there?!" KH does not give the Final Fantasy characters any reason as to why they ended up in the worlds they were in. Tidus, Selphie, Leon, Cid, Yuffie, Cloud, and EVEN Aerith! None of them made references to their own game or their pasts. In KH3D, this was explained for the TWEWY gang. Hell! There were major spoilers for non TWEWY players when Josh used his wings! His F***ING WINGS! <strong>

**Huff, huff…**

**Okay enough ranting. This chapter, and chapters introducing characters not important to the storyline other than for amusement, because I wanted them to have a chance to be reincarnated, or emotional support of the main players of this fanfiction i.e. Sora and Riku, are going to be known as "In the Background"s. They shall cover mainly how they went through their reincarnation process, or in this case, talk it out. They will be slightly long, but will be important for the plot as it progresses. Because Zack and Cloud are here, Riku's emotional support base has started, and so has Sora's. They will be advice givers and… I won't say anymore for the sake of spoiling the rest of the plot I have laid out. Note though: There will be one exception to this case because of his further involvement in the plot. I won't say who though.**

**To Randomperson: Thanks for your suggestions and review! However, I already have Axel and Xion's reincarnations thought out. And they're not who you think they will be. Axel is definitely a Weasely, but he's none of those that are normally Reno candidates for FF7HP reincarnation fics. My choice will surprise you all a lot, but reasons will be explained in an "In the Background" chapter. 'Mione is NOT a reincarnation. I have no urge to add Zexion into this fic as Hermione's reincarnation as he strikes me as a Slytherin-Ravenclaw cross, not a Gryffindor-Ravenclaw cross in terms of personality and actions. Any personality changes that I make is already in their original personality, depending on how I interpret it. Example: Harry was classed as a possible Slytherin, but chose Gryffindor. Riku has an even mix of Gryffindor bravery and Slytherin cunning and ambition. So when Riku's personality awoke, it brings Harry's neglected Slytherin side out. Either way, thanks for the review.**

**Hope you've enjoyed this chapter! Read and Review!**

**Kiri Kaitou Clover**

****(Psst! Btw, Harry's old personality leaked through in this chapter. And did you know that in the previous chapter, Zack and Cloud almost stole the show? Their parts was an on the spot decision and **literally **wrote itself out! So I cut that part out and placed it in this "In the Background" chapter.)****


	5. Slight Revelations and the Musings of-

**Kiri: SOPA IS DONE FOR! WE'VE REACHED 100,000 SIGNATURES YESTERDAY! LETS PRAY THE PETITION GOES THROUGH! **

**Disclaimer is in the first three chapters. Look there.**

**Warning! Slight Dumbles, Molly, Ron and Ginny bashing this chapter! (Not much though. I try to keep bashing to a minimum. To the point that it's barely noticeable.)**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 4: Slight Revelations and the Musings of a Muggleborn Witch.<strong>_

_12 Grimmauld Place, Buckbeak's room_

Riku was extremely annoyed.

When he got back from his little trip to Diagon Alley, he expected to see Sirius in his Polyjuiced form and Remus in Buckbeak's room. Instead there was a long, spikey, black haired, blue eyed man, and another man with blond hair and blue eyes, who he recognised as Cloud, someone who Sora had considered an older brother.

He almost went into shock when he heard Sirius' voice coming from the other man and seeing Cloud did not help since the man had tried to kill him more than once for "Trying to taint his little brother". Riku had screeched out in surprise at all this, some of Harry's personality leaking through.

Now though, everything had been explained. Sirius was Zack, who was Cloud's mentor in their original world. What was annoying was how the man had started bouncing around like a puppy. Beside him, Cloud, who had explained he had been reincarnated into Remus, just face palmed in both annoyance and embarrassment.

Wondering what had elicited that sort of reaction from the werewolf, Riku decided to ask, "Cloud? Did Sir – I mean Zack do this often back on your world?"

Cloud just groaned, and said, "Yes… It was way worse when he was hyped up on sugar or on this world, butterbeer."

Riku sweat dropped at that, thinking, _'Can someone even get hyper on butterbeer? Then again, this is Sirius were talking about…'_

Cloud then continued, "Anyways, lets just wait for him to get that energy out of his system. In the mean time, how was your trip to Diagon Alley?"

Riku then carefully explained the details of what happened during and after the ritual, with Cloud interrupting a certain points to make comments or ask questions. He mentioned the soul piece (Remus: Horcruxes are the foulest of magics. Doesn't surprise me You-Know-Who would use dark methods to extend his life), his additional abilities (Remus: I myself retained some of the magic Merlin taught us, plus my SOLDIER enhancements), his need for a new wand, and the situation with the bank.

Surprisingly, Zack stopped bouncing around when he mentioned that the key that he stole was not even the real key. Instead the man sat down in front of Riku and listened carefully to what he said the goblins told him. By the end of the explanation, Zack had begun growling lowly about stupid old men and thieves. He then said to Riku "Harry, Dumbledore was the one who gave Molly that key, if I'm right. That means that it is possible that he has been stealing from your vaults in disguise of withdrawing the money on your be–"

Riku just raised his hand, and interrupted Zack, "I know, Zack. I gathered this much when the goblins told me about it. What's worse is that the old man was behind most of the major incidences during my past four years at Hogwarts. He should have destroyed the Sorcerer's Stone when he knew of Voldemort's interest in it in the beginning of first year. He should have noticed that a dark artefact had made its way into the school early in second year. He could have just asked us to give us our memories of third year regarding Wormtail. Lastly, he should have noticed Crouch Jr. disguised as Moody!"

At the end of the rant, Riku buried his face in his hands, and started grumbling, "That way I would not have gotten this stupid hero complex and lived a somewhat normal school year… Damn old man and his manipulations… Sora's the hero, not me! Argh! How did Sora deal with this?!"

Cloud and Zack just chuckled as the Riku started another rant about Sora's slight hero complex and how Harry's hero complex was just as bad during the first four years. Then Zack realised how similar Riku was to someone both he and Cloud knew.

"You know, he reminds me of Seph whenever he ranted about Genesis' drama queen act. Don't you agree Cloud?"

Cloud just laughed at Zack's statement. He then looked at the clock that was on the wall of the room and blinked in surprise before resting a hand on Riku's shoulder, interrupting his rant. Riku just looked at him annoyed.

"Don't look at me like that young man. Your rants were getting tiresome, and we have to leave the room now before any one gets too suspicious, since it's almost dinner," Cloud explained to Riku while giving him a stern look.

As soon as he finished that sentence, a voice cut through the air. "Harry! Come down, its dinner time! Also Remus, Black! I know you're in Buckbeak's room with him so come down for dinner as well!"

Riku and Zack just looked at each other before laughing, while Cloud just pouted since he knew it was him they were laughing at. Putting on the items that held their permanent glamor charm in place, Sirius and Remus stood where Zack and Cloud once were. Riku though, decided to forgo the glamor and leave his appearance as it is. At the raised eyebrow from both Sirius and Remus, Riku just said, "I could always say that I hid the changes under a glamor charm until today when I decided I would not bother with it anymore. It would explain my so called outburst that led me to hide in Buckbeak's room the whole day."

Accepting the explanation the three made their way down the stairs and into the dining room while carefully avoiding the portrait of Sirius' mother.

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><p><strong>(AN: For the sake of Hermione, Riku is going to be referred too as Harry. This is only until Harry explains his situation, which will happen later.)<strong>

When Harry finally came out of Buckbeak's room, Hermione had been surprised to see how much his appearance had changed in such a short time. Gone was the messy rat's nest that used to be his hair. His hair was still short, but it had become straight, spiking out at the ends, and the colour of his hair had become an interesting mix of black and silver. What surprised her even more was the cold attitude he had used to regard Ron and Ginny when they tried to talk to him.

_~Flashback~_

"_Harry! What the hell did you do to your hair?!" Ginny screeched in horror at the sight of Harry's now straight and silver streaked hair._

_Harry just looked at her coldly before walking to sit in between Remus and Sirius at the other side of the dining table. Then Ron, taking offense, shouted at him, "Harry, Ginny asked you a question! Why are you ignoring her?! Heck, for Merlin's sake, why are you ignoring all of us?!"_

"_You said she asked?"_

_Everyone froze at how cold and emotionless Harry sounded, that even the other Order members who had just entered the dining room stopped in place. _

"_You said I'm ignoring you?"_

_Hermione shivered at his tone of voice and knew it would be a bad idea to speak up. Ron, however, didn't seem to take a hint, and shouted back, "Yes you're ignoring us! I thought you already forgave us for withholding information earlier, are you mad at us again?!"_

_Hermione sighed in relief when Harry just smirked. It wasn't going to be another full blown shouting match like his first day in Grimmauld Place. But his next sentence made her freeze up again._

"_Of course I'm still mad at the lack of communication from my two so called 'friends'. Hence the reason I ignored all of you this afternoon. As for Ginny, she didn't ask. She screeched. Thus, it was not a valid question. But to answer it anyway…"_

_Ginny leaned forward in apprehension as Harry trailed off in the middle of his explanation before he snapped at her, "None of your damn business! You don't have any say in what I do nor should you care." _

"_Harry, don't be rude. She was only curious," Mrs Weasley reprimanded as she laid the food out on the table. However, Harry just muttered out, "I'll stop being rude when everyone stops treating me like some disabled person. I'm not that fragile."_

"_We know that Harry, now eat your dinner," Remus sighed, before covering his oversensitive ears with his hands as Tonks tripped over the umbrella stand and woke the portrait of Walburga Black yet again, her screams breaking the awkward silence that had unknowingly settled over the room._

_~Flashback end~_

Hermione was glad that Tonks' clumsiness had, for once, eased an already tense situation. But what happened next scared the wits out of everyone except Sirius and Remus for some reason.

_~Flashback~_

"_Filthy half-breeds, blood traitors, mudbloods! Oh, my ancestors would kill you all for tainting these halls with all you filth! Freaks the lot of you!" Screamed the portrait of Walburga Black. At the last statement though, the screams of disgust became screams of fear and terror as a ball of fire slammed into the side of the portrait before consuming it in flames, silencing the screams of the portrait with it._

_Everyone then turned their heads in the direction the ball of fire came from, only to find Harry with one outstretched, slightly smoking hand, the other occupied with a fork. Probably noticing the stares, Harry just looked up and frowned, before saying, "What? She was annoying me and Remus was hurting due to his sensitive hearing!"_

_~Flashback End~_

Sirius had started rolling on the floor with laughter when the portrait burst into flames. Hermione had only made out a few short sentences he had been laughing out, such as, "Never thought to set her on fire", "Fireball tag" and "Fira spell". Remus had bonked him on the head with a frying pan (Hermione: Was that from the kitchen?) and stopped his laughter before she could hear anymore, but it had her thinking.

Hermione wasn't so dumb as to blindly trust authority figures after her first year. Like Ron, she was offered money by Dumbledore to keep an eye on Harry after the end of her first year. Unlike Ron, that jealous prat, the minute Harry had saved her from that troll, she had mentally pledged her allegiance to him, hence she refused the old man's offer. She knew that Ron, Ginny and Molly Weasley had made deals with Dumbledore in exchange for money from Harry's vault. So with the way Harry had started to act, she guessed that he had begun to notice the manipulations around him.

The change in hairstyle and hair colour though, couldn't be explained by a simple visit to the hair stylist over the holidays, as Harry could not have cast a glamor charm then. Remus and Sirius were acting like nothing had changed, thus confirming that they knew what was happening to Harry. Sirius had slipped out that unknown spell's name as well. Hermione didn't understand how did Harry cast it wandlessly and why Sirius knew what it was.

Hence, Hermione knew that she was going to have to do what she did best: Research. She had to understand what was happening to him on the same level as Remus and Sirius before she could truly help Harry deal with the manipulations around him in any way. But first, she might as well find some more law books regarding trials in the Wizarding World. Better to give him some ammo to use against the biased Ministry.

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><p><strong>Author's Note:<strong>

**I know I promised to post this chapter two weeks ago. My muse dried up with school, and SOPA, so sorry! But I've posted it, with modifications to my storyline again, thanks to a certain muggleborn witch!**

**Really thanks everyone for making their guesses! Especially you Randomperson! It really makes me happy someone enjoys my fanfiction to try to contribute to ideas. Gamma Cavy, thanks for guessing who might Axel be as well! However, I cannot answer your guess for Axel since he's appearing soon! **

**This is what I can tell you though. Including Riku, Cloud and Zack, there shall only be 10 reincarnated people from the Kingdom Hearts series, and three of them will be reincarnated into OCs. Kairi is not reincarnated in this world as she is a princess of heart, meaning she will only reincarnate in the world her heart was connected to i.e. Radiant Garden, at least in my opinion. I am not making Dumbles a reincarnation since I bashed him a little this chapter. None of the villains or known powerful wizards in the Kingdom Hearts series are to be reincarnated, as Kingdom Hearts itself has deemed the villains unworthy of such. Only one villain shall be reincarnated, and he is in that list of 10!**

**Randomperson! KEEP GUESSING! You have ONE CORRECT ANSWER! Gave you a lot of hints so have fun guessing who the remaining three characters and their reincarnations are! (Whoops! Going overboard here! Suddenly making this a guessing game!)**

******I keep putting off Axel's appearance as my chapters keep getting longer. Stupid muse. Hermione just wrote herself into this chapter, just like Zack and Cloud almost did for chapter three. Her bit is not an In the Background chapter as it describes Riku's actions from her point of view. Hence, the chapter is still Riku centric.******

******You know, with all the excitement with writing this fic I forgot to mention that this is my first time I'm writing a Harry Potter fic, and I'm going on what I remember from fics and the movies to write this out, so forgive me if its a little messy.******

**Please continue to read and review! **


	6. Old Man's Manipulations poof!-

**Disclaimer is not on this page/chapter. Go to Chapter 1 or 2 if you wish to read the disclaimer. If that is all, I hope you enjoy this installment of Consume the Darkness, Return it to Light!**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 5:<strong>_** Old Man's Manipulations *poof!*, Helpful Forgiven Friend, and…**__

_Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office_

While Harry had been missing (not that anyone actually knew) and Hermione had contemplated about her friend's changes when he returned (again, not like she knew that he had gone off on his own), a certain old man was up in his office, not knowing of the chaos that was about to occur from the upheaval of several of his plans.

Dumbledore had made them the moment the prophecy had been revealed to him. He knew there were only two children born at the end of July, Neville Longbottom, and Harry Potter. Both born to those that had faced Voldemort in battle and escaped with their lives. However, Dumbledore knew that Voldemort would only consider someone like himself, a half-blood, as a potential threat. Thus that left the Potter clan as the main target. Knowing this, the old man had made plans, one to ensure the entire Potter clan was wiped out should their son be the Chosen One of prophecy, another to ensure that he would be able to hold claim to their family fortune, by proclaiming the young heir as Dark should he survive the encounter with Voldemort, killing him and claiming his vaults through right of conquest, as he would not have left a will, or have any next of kin to pass the vaults down to.

To carry out the second plan, he had to enlist helpers to try to control the boy and restrict his growth. He knew that the Weasley family were loyal to him, especially the matriarch of the clan. He had informed her of some of his plans regarding the Potter heir, and she readily agreed. When Ginerva Weasley was born, she was included in the plans, and when she was old enough to be told, became a willing participant. Ronald Weasley, he approached at the end of his first year before letting him on the plan, which, being the jealous child he was, readily agreed to it. His only regret was that the Granger girl swore she wanted no part in his plan.

As the old man pondered over his plans regarding the year (one that had already been screwed by Harry regaining memories of his past life, but Dumbles doesn't know that!), Fawkes just shook his head, trilling out a sad note. The phoenix then broke the already worn thin familiar bond before flying out of the room to find one who had a heart of fire, whose ideals were not clouded by greed and a need for power. The old man would only notice two days later, and would end up destroying his entire office in rage, completely forgetting about a trial that was supposed to take place.

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><p><em>12 Grimmauld Place<em>

Sirius, Remus and Harry had ended up holing themselves up in the hippogriff's room for the entire day unless someone called the two adults down or when Molly Weasley called the three down for a meal. No one dared to approach. Well, no one except Hermione Granger that is.

Of course the two youngest Weasley children kept trying to dissuade her from seeing Harry throughout the day. They almost succeeded, until the twins informed her that despite Harry being so prickly about them not communicating with him, he was at least willing to try and forgive Hermione, who at least gave a somewhat reasonable explanation as to why they felt it was necessary (This though, made her wonder just how close Harry was to the twins.).

She knew that Harry would be avoiding them the whole day, so she spent it researching more on how trials in the Wizarding World were conducted, while being pestered by both Ron and Ginny. By the end of the day, Hermione was surprised by the information she had, and internally, she was fuming mad. Gathering up the few books she got from the Black Library, she snuck a look around. Noticing the sounds of Ron and Ginny complaining about cleaning, she made her way towards Buckbeak's room.

Giving the door a knock, Hermione waited as she heard the sound of someone scrambling to stand before the door opened. Harry, seeing that it was Hermione at the door, scowled before asking, "What do you want?"

Hermione just shoved the books she gathered into his hands, before saying, "I know I can't really apologise for the lack of information earlier during summer, so I'll make it up to you now."

Seeing the scowl on Harry's face recede to one of confusion, Hermione explained herself, "These books contain most of the laws regarding the Wizarding World, especially those regarding the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery. They were all I could find on such short notice. I already had a look at the books though, and there are a few exceptions to the rule. I'll give you one advice for the trial though, request for Veritaserum. It'll make things much easier."

"Why?"

"Hm? Why what?" Hermione tilted her head wondering what he was asking about.

"Why help me with this?" Harry just looked at her utterly bewildered, green eyes wide and questioning. So some of her friend was still under that cold façade of his.

Hermione just sighed before explaining her actions, "You were hiding something when you came downstairs for dinner yesterday. It was obvious with the way Sirius, Remus and the twins seemed to act like things were normal." At his angered look, she hastily defended herself, "I'm not going to pry!" Another confused look. "I promised myself that I would find out what you were hiding through my own means, without pestering you for answers. I would tell you when I had an answer, and I hope you would trust me not to reveal it to others. This is my means of rebuilding our trust as friends between each other."

Harry stared at her in shock, and Hermione gave him a smile before retreating back to the library.

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><p><em>12 Grimmauld Place, Buckbeak's Room<em>

Riku was still in shock when he turned around to face Sirius and Remus. Wondering what could have done that Sirius poked at the silver haired Keyblade Master and asked, "Harry? What happened?"

Jolting out of his shock, Riku placed the books given by Hermione down in front of the three of them. Sirius took one look at the books and exclaimed, "Wait a minute! These books are from the Black Library! I didn't even give Hermione permission to go in there!"

Hearing this, Riku just chuckled, "Guess that shows just how desperate she is to regain my trust in her, huh."

At that statement, Remus just looked at Riku curiously. Seeing the look Remus was giving him, Riku relayed the conversation he had with Hermione to the two adults while Sirius looked through the books that Hermione gave Riku to read. Riku, once he finished explaining, turned to Sirius and asked, "So? Have there been any changes to the law since these books were published?"

Sirius started laughing, causing Remus to glare at him for not taking things seriously and bring out a struggle bat from who knows where. Seeing this, Sirius stopped laughing, gulped, and tried to appease Remus, "Umm… Cloud? I'll take things seriously okay? Please don't hurt me and put the bat down?"

Remus just slowly put the bat away as he grumbled out, "Stupid Puppy."

Riku just faced-palmed at his godfather's childishness before asking him again. This time, Sirius gave a straight answer, "The books themselves are valid. What I'm more worried about is what the Ministry might pull just to get you a guilty sentence."

Remus just looked at Sirius before asking, "Zack, what are you implying?"

Sirius sighed and explained, "You both know I never got a trial before I was sent to Azkaban right?" The other two nodded, before Sirius continued on. "Crouch immediately though of me as guilty back then due to misinformation and my own mental breakdown. Similarly, Harry has been recently regarded as an insane, attention seeking brat."

Remus, at hearing the description, snorted, "Sounds like Genesis."

Riku looked at him inquiringly. Remus just gave him a look telling the boy he'd explain later. Sirius ignored the obvious interruption and continued with his explanation, "Taking this into account, it would be safe to assume that the Minister would most likely try and prevent Harry from giving any explanation to his course of actions that resulted in him breaking the law, immediately labelling him guilty."

Riku, understanding the situation, then asked, "So if I request to submit my memories to a pensive and take the Veritaserum just before the trial starts, we can pretty much prevent them from doing so, right?"

Remus nodded before adding on to Sirius' explanation, "Your cousin and his family already know about magic, which means that they are exempt from the law as they had been informed prior to you attending Hogwarts. If you add this to your testimony, plus state the reason for your actions as defence against a pair of dementors while on the Veritaserum, it would confirm your statement as true, therefore making their accusations void."

Riku then closed his eyes before making a request, "Remus, Sirius? Can you help me think up some possible scenarios that would occur during or before the trial? Also, Sirius? Is there anything else in those books we need? Because, I wish to be prepared as much as possible so as to throw any accusations the Ministry make at me back into their face."

At that last statement, Riku had a dark smirk reminiscent of Riku's Ansem possessed self on his face. To Remus and Zack, they looked on in horror as the similarities Riku had to Sephiroth continued to pile up, this one being the former General's vicious streak.

* * *

><p>~Time Skip~<p>

_Ministry of Magic, Court Room 10_

Riku scowled as Arthur Weasley dragged him in his hurry to get him to the hearing on time. It was a good thing he had asked his godfather and honorary uncle to drill him on situations like this.

"Courtroom… Ten… I think… we're nearly… yes."

Stopping outside a grimy dark door with an immense iron lock, Mr Weasley slumped against the wall, trying to catch his breath.

"Go on," he panted, pointing his thumb at the door. "Get in there."

Riku looked at the man wondering if he would be alright on his own. Shaking his head and deciding not to waste anymore time, he made his way into the courtroom. Looking around, despite the darkness, he could easily see on the highest benches, many people speaking in low voices. There were about fifty of them, all, wearing plum-colored robes with an elaborately worked silver W on the left-hand side of the chest.

As soon as he stepped in, the voices stopped.

"You're late."

"Sorry," muttered Riku. "Not my fault or fault of yours I never received the notice until just now."

"At least you admit it," The voice said. "Take your seat."

Riku twitched when he saw the chair in question and groaned loudly, realising he was in the same room the Lestrange were sentenced to life imprisonment in Azkaban.

"Well, come on! We don't have time for this dilly-dallying!" The voice growled lowly, getting annoyed at Riku's hesitance to sit on the chair.

Riku reluctantly sat down as the people on the top bench looked down at him curiously.

Cornelius Fudge sat at the forefront of them all. On his left sat a broad, square-jawed witch with very short grey hair, wearing a monocle.

Riku internally commented, _'Is she trying to look intimidating? So not working.'_

On Fudge's right was another witch, who made Riku want to gag loudly, since she was dressed entirely in pink, and looked like a human toad.

"Very well," Fudge declared, ignoring the strange faces Riku was making. "The accused being present - finally - let us begin. Are you ready?" he called down the row.

Utter silence.

Fudge turned his head towards the end of the front bench, frowning. "Mr Weasley?"

Riku snapped his head in the direction of said person and caught the eyes of one Percy Weasley, whose eyes had widened in recognition before-

"Damn it all to Kingdom Hearts! Why the hell are you here?!" Percy slammed his hands on the bench as he stood up, pointing accusingly at Riku.

Riku's only coherent thought was this: _'Huh?!'_

* * *

><p><strong>And that's a wrap! I thank my readers for waiting patiently for this chapter to come out. Hopefully it turned out okay and my characterisation of a manipulative Dumbles wasn't too bad. I had 'Mione confront<strong> **Harry about discovering his secret through research alone and not pry him for answers like she and Ron normally do. Most of you probably have an idea who Percy is by now as well. But let me say this, things would not go the same way it had during the original book! **

**Next chapter will be an In the Background. So, don't expect plot progress! But it MAY take some time…**

**Also, thanks for everyone's opinions regarding whether to split the story in two or not! It will stay as one whole piece of fanfiction! I have to tell you though, this fic will end during the 6****th**** book. Thus, it's going to be non Deathly Hallows compliant! **

**Anyways READ AND REVIEW!**

**Kiri Kaitou Clover**

***NOTE: Remus pulling a bat or blunt object out of nowhere to smack Sirius for glomping him or doing something silly will become a running gag!***


	7. ItB 2

**DISCLAIMER: Just go back a few chapters if you feel like reading the disclaimer of all things.**

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><p><em><strong>In the Background 2: Reigniting Dancing Flames<strong>_

Flames start off with a spark. Fanning the flames makes it bigger, brighter. Leave it alone, and it goes out of control. Keep it contained, and you will see it dance.

Same with memories. One spark is all it takes to trigger it. For Percy Weasley, fire was the trigger, the spark that reignited the Dancing Flames.

* * *

><p><strong>Age 3: <strong>

Percy was in the living room, and for the first time, he was there to see his father return by the Floo. Flames engulfed the fireplace, flames that he had been forbidden to touch or see without his parents around. This was his first time seeing the fireplace lit. Though, he felt the colour was wrong… After all, weren't flames supposed to be red, orange and yellow, not green? All the colours of a sunset?

**Age 5: **

He tried to keep it down, but the urge was there. The urge to prank his eldest brother. He was going to leave them all alone! Though the urge was pushed down in favour of playing with the twins, who loved jumping him. Percy sometimes wondered if the urge to play pranks was due to those dreams he had of pranking a beautiful town with a blue haired, gold eyed boy, and pranking the ones living in a stark white castle with a pair who had the same sky blue eyes, but of different genders, hairstyles and hair colour.

**Age 9:**

Percy was going to be the eldest brother in the house until two years later. He decided it was time to start acting responsibly. While teaching the twins pranks was fun and all, he had to show his mother that he could live independently (if only to be able to prank people without giving away that it was him). A mask of a responsible big brother. Even though it was a mask, it felt familiar though. After all, he did act as a mentor to the black and blond duo in the white castle in his dreams.

**Age 11: **

It was his turn to leave for Hogwarts. Maybe a present? So he asked his mother if they all could go out for ice-cream, since it would be the last time he saw his younger siblings. Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour sold many flavours. But one in particular stood out to Percy. He decided to inquire the owner.

"Mr Fortescue? May I ask what these light blue bars are?"

The man gave him a grin, "They're an old recipe I've been trying to recreate since I found it five years ago! Managed to perfect them, Sea-salt Ice-cream that is! Want to try one?"

He said yes, and he got a bar while paying the man. His siblings looked at him as he took a bite.

"Salty… but surprisingly sweet!" He exclaimed, enjoying the icy treat. He realized he had tasted the ice-cream before, in his dreams, eating it with the duo on the top of a clock tower, watching the sunset.

At age 11, this was the point he realized his dreams were more than just dreams. Especially when the Sorting Hat told him of his underlying Slytherin like personality, one brought forth by his dreams. He still got sorted into Gryffindor though.

**Age 12: **

Percy felt the sting of betrayal, as his eldest brother decided to leave the family to work in Egypt, to heed his calling as a curse breaker. It was slightly familiar though. That night he dreamed.

"_Your mind's made up?"_

"_Why did the Keyblade chose me? I have to know."_

"_You can't turn on the -! You get on their bad side and they'll destroy you!"_

"_No one would miss me."_

"_That's not true! I would."_

Percy woke up with that dream in mind. Somehow, seeing the hardened blue eyes in the blonde's face tugged at his heart and he mentally screamed at his dream self for not chasing down the blond and trying to stop him or at least follow him.

* * *

><p><strong>Age 14:<strong>

He was exasperated. His brothers, the twins, had some how pranked the whole school before the train arrived to take them home. They were currently being chewed out by their mother. Though, he mentally applauded them for such an extravagant prank. Decorating the entire Great Hall walls with paintings of their animal mascots and charming the ceiling to rain their mascot animals? Genius. (Though he had to wonder how they modified the charm for the ceiling)

He was surprised when he saw Luna Lovegood with their family. He asked his mother, who announced that Luna's mother had died and her father was still grieving, thus left his daughter in the care of the Weasley Clan.

Percy went to greet her only to meet strangely familiar blue eyes and pale blond hair. His mind flashed to one of his dreams, a castle that took the memories of its intruders. She made the first move.

"I see you're slowly putting the pieces of your memory together. You may want to complete them soon, as Kingdom Hearts has set several changes in motion."

Mentally, Percy cursed, _'She's still such a witch… Literally this time!'_ He didn't question the strange thought. Luna just looked at him dreamily before walking off, drawing happily in her sketchbook a black coated man with flaming red hair.

* * *

><p><strong>Age 15: <strong>

_'That's Harry Potter?! He looks too thin…'_ is Percy's first impression of the Boy-who-lived. But the green eyes triggered a memory of similarly green tattoos he had on his face during his dreams. He acted. Pompous and slightly abusive of his prefect position to hide his need to go to contact his elder brother for help. His dreams had been getting more and more realistic and out of control by the day.

He ran off once he was sure the first years were settled in, and sent a letter to Bill detailing his current problem. The letter returned within a week, and in the dead of the night, Percy Weasley snuck his way to the Gringotts bank and had the Ritual of Awakening done, completing the links to his chain of memories.

He returned to school with glamours undetectable by magic, since his hair had spiked back into its wild mane and his eyes had turned as green as Potter's, and a brand new wand, a 14 inch beech, with a fire crab ash and phoenix tail feather core combination, flexible [1]. He was more Slytherin than before.

That year, despite the issue with the Sorcerer's Stone (Yep, he knew and wondered why Harry had such a need to help people…), the school was hit with a rash number of pranks that couldn't be pinned on the Weasley Twins or anyone else, though the two did look at Percy suspiciously. Ron was hit particularly hard, since Percy had caught him betraying Potter's trust. Dumbledore didn't know that their conversation had been heard though.

* * *

><p><strong>Age 16:<strong>

Diagon Alley. Malfoy. Weasley. Confrontation. Bad. Percy rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance as his father and Lord Malfoy started fighting. He did take the time to notice Draco Malfoy and realised how the cold look really looked familiar. Must have been the leftover feedback from assimilating his memories. But the glare really looked a lot like someone whenever he was angry at him.

He had found a friend in one of his fellow prefects the year before, and spent a lot of time talking with her. It was hard finding someone intelligent and not Quidditch obsessed to hold a conversation with. Though, this constant contact led to his sister assuming they were dating.

Then the attacks happened. He did his best to try to divert Potter's attention away from the little mystery on hand, but it didn't work. Percy officially declared Harry Potter to having a Hero Complex. It didn't help that his traitor of a brother was egging the boy on to trying to solve the attacks.

Then Granger was attacked. The muggleborn girl, from what he gathered, was the only one truly loyal to Potter. Thus, Potter threw any reasoning out of the window. Percy had to bang his head on the wall when they tried to find answers from an Acromantula nest of all things. He really hated the recklessness that all Gryffindors had.

His sister going missing was the final straw though. Everyone avoided Percy when he stormed his way towards the headmaster's office, flames sparking at the tips of his fingers, eager to snap and burn culprit down to the point that even their bones were ashes. Potter got to him first though, saving his little sister in the progress.

A little sister he grew utterly disgusted by when she was offered and agreed to the same proposal to betray Potter's trust by Dumbledore.

There were no pranks this time around for the end of year. Percy was disgusted by his youngest siblings, and recruited the twins, giving them a subtle hint to slowly bring to light the manipulations happening around Potter to him, and protect him as a brother would. The twins saw the evil grin, one extremely familiar pranking grin, on their uptight brother's face, and agreed, knowing the chaos it would cause.

* * *

><p><strong>Age 17:<strong>

Last year at Hogwarts. Aiming for a Ministry position for infiltration purposes. Though… he felt they were utterly incompetent. Sirius Black never had a trial for his crime of betraying the Potters, from what Percy researched. Despite that fact, he was sent straight to Azkaban, the supposedly "impenetrable" fortress that held the worst of the worst. Black escaped. And Fudge decides to place those soul sucking monsters in a school full of children! Seriously, this level of incompetence was horrendous.

The year went on somewhat peacefully. With only that incident on the train, the Quidditch match that had Dementors invading the pitch, and the one time Black was spotted in the school, nothing much happened.

Well, nothing except the fact that the true traitor (Percy cursed his lack of memories and giving the rat to his brother as the reason for not noticing the oddness of the rat's lifespan) escaped and their DADA teacher turned out to be a Werewolf (Not that he cared, considering Isa was almost the same.). Percy kept mentally muttering about stupid hero complexes when he secretly prepared the prank for Professor Snape and the Headmaster. The shouts of horror came from the castle while the students boarded the train home.

Percy did pull aside the twins to tell them of his plan to infiltrate the Ministry. The two understood the meaning of secrecy well and didn't mind that he was not going to be as close to their family for the time being. In return he gave them more prank ideas to use since he knew of their dream to open a prank store.

* * *

><p><strong>Age 18:<strong>

Although he was eager, Percy felt that it was a giant mistake. The Tri-Wizard Tournament he meant. Something bad was going to happen. He knew it ever since Bertha Jorkins went missing.

Percy was right.

Despite his teasing mannerisms when he dropped a hint about the tournament, he was inwardly worried for the safety of his family. The attack at the Quidditch World Cup, the appearance of the Dark Mark, and the numerous letters of fear and worry about the possible return of Death Eaters had increased his worry further. It didn't really help that he was stressed out by Crouch's strictness, maintaining his cover was tiring.

Percy did develop a way of sending messages without the use of owls. It modified the original purpose of the Howlers (He experimented on the ones he kept getting without opening them). Instead of shouting its message before burning into ashes, the ones he made were sent through a flash of fire, leaving the letter. Once the contents were read, the letter would still burn up. What made it fun was that most would immediately assume a phoenix dropped the letter off, thus they would not look to him as a sender of the messages. Useful when sending budget friendly prank ideas to the twins, who were still easily surprised that their stuck up brother encouraged their pranks despite how many years had passed.

The next time he hears from them though, was when the selection of the Champions for the tournament occurred. Percy inwardly cursed the horrible luck Potter had. Were all heroes magnets for trouble? Percy was starting to think so.

The stress had gotten to Crouch, allowing Percy to get closer to the man, becoming his personal assistant. Though, observing him, Percy felt that the stress wasn't related to the tournament at all.

Because of his new duties, Percy went to the Yule Ball, and while he had been talking to the rest of the judges and his former professors, Luna had dragged him aside to give his a warning that made him pale in shock.

"His reawakening draws near Percy. Be prepared, for everything will change. Alliances made, bonds forged and broken, memories of old returning," With that, Luna left, leaving Percy worried for what was to come.

The second task had pissed him off, even though he didn't show it. Putting the lives of those who were supposed to be uninvolved in the tournament in danger was irresponsible of the ones who chose the tasks. He was glad though, that Potter had gotten the young veela child out of the water. Any longer, and she would have died, since the child was born fire aligned [2], as all veela and their descendants were, making them more vulnerable to water than most.

Then Crouch had for some reason turned up in the Forbidden Forest. Percy was facing inquiry, but it did not lead to any consequences other than his ability to oversee the last task. A small set back, since he would not be able to keep and eye on Potter and would have lost the trust of his 'superiors'.

Though, it seems that Luna's prediction was inevitable. By the end of the third task, Percy knew Voldemort had returned. How, he didn't know, but Percy knew that he was going to have to suck up to a lot of people in the Ministry if he was to regain their trust and gather more information.

Knowing this, Percy sighed, thinking, _'Why do I always get stuck with the icky jobs?'_

* * *

><p><strong>Age 19:<strong>

Percy managed to get himself disowned by his family, for not wanting to follow Dumbledore. His actions were sincere either way. Dumbledore was a fool to think that the Ministry would listen without hard evidence such as memories, yet he didn't see it fit to do so. At least, by announcing his allegiance to the Ministry, they would not suspect him of being a spy, especially that toad, Umbridge.

Then Potter got himself caught for using magic outside of Hogwarts. Percy sighed when he received the news, and wondered what had happened for Potter to find a need to do so. The day of the trial came, and Potter was late, but Percy knew it was a ploy to force a guilty verdict, since the Minister changed the time.

When Potter entered the room, Percy had to force himself to stay seated on his chair, as he noticed something familiar about Potter's now silver streaked hair. Even the boy's voice sounded familiar, not a nice familiarity, but of someone who grated on his nerves in his past quite often. He wasn't paying attention when the Minister asked him if he was ready.

Potter had turned his head Percy's direction, allowing him to see very familiar bluish green eyes set on an even more familiar face. Recognition filled him, and the side of him that was Axel surged forth like a wild fire, slamming his hands on the bench as he stood up to point accusingly at Potter, or should he say Riku.

"Damn it all to Kingdom Hearts! Why the hell are you here?!"

* * *

><p><strong>And that's where the next chapter will begin. Really sorry for this ItB chapter taking so long to write up, but coming up with Percy's past was a pain and a half. As you can see, he starts getting glimpses of his life as Lea and Axel very early, and its blown wide open during his fifth year. Hence the particularly long chapter (ItBs are supposed to be short damn it!) <strong>

**Percy was chosen as Axel's reincarnation cause of his outward dislike of Dumbledore, his red hair, plus his position in the Ministry. However, I've taken the liberty to add more of Axel's personality into him, to act as a spy, traitor, prankster, elder bother. We've often seen a number of fanfics implementing this for those who prefer to portray Percy in a good light though. He's also more hot tempered, plus he also loves to experiment with fire, hence him meddling with the magic of a Howler letter. **

**Explanations:**

**[1] New Wand – Beech because of his logical mind, and fire crab ash and phoenix feather combination because of his love for fire.**

**[2] Fire Aligned – Magical creatures known for their abilities with fire or who Humans who have creature inheritance from said type of magical creature. Automatically labels them as fire elementals. This alignment, however, makes them extremely vulnerable to any spells or creatures that work with water.**

**In addition to the explanations above, I've left hints of two others that have been reincarnated. One of them is really obvious. The other, not so much. See if you can guess who!**

**Anyways, I will be working on the next chapter whenever I can, but no promises as to when I am able to post it. Please leave a review so I know if I've made mistakes somewhere or missed out certain plot points where Percy was heavily involved. Suggestions will also be welcome for this chapter and the next since I'm fresh out of ideas!**

**Kiri Kaitou Clover **


	8. The Hearing, TAKE 2!

**Disclaimer in the first few chapters. Please look there if that is all you are looking for. And an added note: This is in all technicality chapter VIII. Axel's organisation number. Coincidence?**

* * *

><p><strong>Just to make the beginning of the chapter make sense, let's recap what happened at the end of the last chapter shall we?<strong>

_Cornelius Fudge sat at the forefront of them all. On his left sat a broad, square-jawed witch with very short grey hair, wearing a monocle._

_Riku internally commented, __'Is she trying to look intimidating? So not working.'_

_On Fudge's right was another witch, who made Riku want to gag loudly, since she was dressed entirely in pink, and looked like a human toad._

_"Very well," Fudge declared, ignoring the strange faces Riku was making. "The accused being present - finally - let us begin. Are you ready?" he called down the row._

_Utter silence._

_Fudge turned his head towards the end of the front bench, frowning. "Mr Weasley?"_

_Riku snapped his head in the direction of said person and caught the eyes of one Percy Weasley, whose eyes had widened in recognition before-_

_"Damn it all to Kingdom Hearts! Why the hell are you here?!" Percy slammed his hands on the bench as he stood up, pointing accusingly at Riku._

_Riku's only coherent thought was this: _'Huh?!'

**Caught up now?**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 6: The Hearing, TAKE 2!<strong>_

Everyone in the court started muttering at the sudden outburst of the normally polite Percy Weasley. The witch dressed in pink (Kiri: *Gags*) coughed loudly and quickly admonished him, "Mr Weasley, please mind your language."

The red haired man just waved her off, "Sorry Madam Undersecretary, no can do." Returning his attention to Riku, he growled out, "Now why and how are you here?!"

Really not understanding what was going on (Especially since Percy just damned everything to Kingdom Hearts of all things. Where the hell did he learn about that?), Riku just asked in total confusion, "Umm… I'm here for a disciplinary hearing Percy, what else would I be here for?"

Percy (Or whoever he was.) rubbed the bridge of his nose and glared at Riku in annoyance, "Not that. Now answer me before I decide to summon my chakrams and flambé you."

At the threat, most of the wizards had started whispering among themselves, wondering what had caused such a violent reaction from their court scribe. Riku on the other hand, was busy putting the pieces together.

'_He knows about Kingdom Hearts, so he's most likely a reincarnation. He has chakrams as weapons, and wields fire? There was only one person with those abilities…' _Riku's eyes slowly widened in realisation.

Before Riku could voice any of his thoughts, the monocle wearing witch interrupted them, "Mr Weasley, whatever issue you have with Mr Potter, please settle it when the court session is over. Now sit down!"

Hearing the note of finality in her voice, and finally noticing the atmosphere in the court, Percy sat down with a huff.

With Percy settled, Fudge then sighed before declaring, "Disciplinary hearing of the twelfth of August, into offences committed under the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery and the International Statute of Secrecy by Harry James Potter, resident at number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey."

Percy looked extremely vexed as he scribbled on his piece of parchment. Riku, having guessed who he was previously, could only wonder what the man was thinking while Riku listened to the Minister drone on.

"Interrogators: Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister for Magic; Amelia Susan Bones, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement; Dolores Jane Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Court Scribe, Percy Ignatius Weasley," Fudge came to a pause before asking Riku, "Any witness for the defence?"

Riku replied, "None sir."

"Then we sh-" Fudge tried to continue when he was interrupted by Riku.

"I have no witness for my defence. However, I would like to request the use of the Veritaserum during the trial, and the submission of my memories of the incident into a pensieve to back up any information I give during the interrogation."

Hearing the bold request from Riku, the entire court burst out into quite mutters. The monocle wearing woman looked at him before saying, "We can grant you the use of a pensieve to submit your memories. However, I'm quite sure you know we can't actually dose you with Veritaserum, since its illegal for it to be used on a minor such as yourself."

Riku, having expected such question being put forth, immediately replied, "Madam, if I'm not mistaken, this is the entire Wizagenmot right? Thus, I am being trialled not as a minor, but as an adult in front of a full court. Hence, it is perfectly legal for the use of Veritaserum."

Hearing his explanation, she gave a satisfied nod, knowing that Riku understood the implications of him being trialled by a full court, "Very well then. Someone bring the Veritaserum and the pensieve. We will administer the potion when the interrogation begins, and you will bring forth your memories regarding the event when requested." She then gestured to Fudge to continue.

"Yes," said Fudge again, shuffling his notes. "Well, then. So. The charges. Yes."

He extricated a piece of parchment from the pile before him, took a deep breath, and read out, "The charges against the accused are as follows: That he did knowingly, deliberately and in full awareness of the illegality of his actions, having received a previous written warning from the Ministry of Magic on a similar charge, produce a Patronus Charm in a Muggle-inhabited area, in the presence of a Muggle, on the second of August at twenty-three minutes past nine, which constitutes an offence under Paragraph C of the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, and also under Section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlocks" Statute of Secrecy."

Pausing, Fudge then declared, "Before we begin the questioning, we will administer three drops of Veritaserum to the accused."

At that, a man came up to Riku and requested him to stick out his tongue. Three drops of the colourless potion was administered, and Riku swallowed.

"Now then, you are Harry James Potter, of number four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey?" Fudge said, glaring at Riku over the top of his parchment.

"Yes," Riku said.

"You received an official warning from the Ministry for using illegal magic three years ago, did you not?"

"Yes."

"And yet you conjured a Patronus on the night of the second of August?" said Fudge.

"Yes," said Riku, "However-"

"Knowing that you are not permitted to use magic outside school while you are under the age of seventeen?"

"Yes, but -"

"Knowing that you were in an area full of Muggles?"

"Yes, but -"

"Fully aware that you were in close proximity to a Muggle at the time?"

"Yes! And will you give me time to explain myself? Or else what was the point of me requesting for the Veritaserum to be administered!" Riku growled, completely annoyed.

Gulping nervously at Riku's outburst, Fudge stuttered out, "F-fine then. Explain yourself!"

Taking a deep breath, Riku explained, "Firstly, the Muggle I performed the Patronus in front of was my cousin from my mother's side of the family. Hence, he was already informed of my ability to use magic, having lived with him most of my life. This, does not violate the Statute of Secrecy at all, due to his prior knowledge of magic."

"Secondly, even if I did use magic, it would only be under extenuating circumstances."

"Hem hem. And what sort of circumstances would that be?" Simpered the one Percy called the Undersecretary.

Riku smirked, "Why, one of the only creatures which would require a Patronus to be cast in defence of one's self of course. A Dementor."

At that the room was once again filled with the chatter of the court.

"That's impossible!"

"Casting a Patronus at his age?!"

"Insane like the papers said."

"Dementors in a Muggle area?"

"Definitely lying, that one."

Riku then said in response to the last statement, "It's impossible for me to lie right now. After all, I have taken Veritaserum before being asked the question."

The monocle wearing witch nodded in agreement before asking Riku, "Then will you submit your memories of the incident into the pensieve in the middle of the hall while the Minister and I view it?"

Riku smiled and just walked towards the pensieve. Grabbing his wand, he brought forward the memory and coaxed it out, as he had been taught by Remus. The silver mist that represented his memories were then put into the pensieve. Both the monocle wearing witch and Fudge then stood up and placed their heads in it.

Silence reigned the hall as the rest of the Wizagenmot waited for the two to re-emerge. When they did, both were pale with shock, and Fudge himself was shivering in fear.

The monocle wearing woman (Kiri: I keep calling her that…), having regained her composure first, then declared, "It seems he was telling the truth about the Dementors and his use of the Patronus. There were no signs of tampering in his memories at all. I think we can call for a vote now."

Fudge, still shivering from viewing the pensieve memory, stuttered out, "I s-second Madam Bones' motion to vote."

Most of the hall, having seen Fudge and Madam Bones' reaction to the memory, voted not guilty. Some, though, including the Undersecretary, still voted guilty despite the evidence given.

Fudge, seeing the majority vote of not guilty, sighed and said, "Very well then. The accused is cleared of all charges. Court adjourned!"

With that the wizards and witches got up from their seats while Riku was led outside. Waiting for him, Arthur Weasley leaned on a pillar and blinked in surprise when he saw Riku. He then asked nervously, "How was it?"

Riku smirked and said, "Cleared of all charges."

It was then that the doors to the court flung open once more, and the rest of the wizards and witches left the room.

"Merlin's beard!" exclaimed Mr Weasley wonderingly, pulling Riku aside to let them all pass. "You were tried by the full court?"

Riku nodded in reply to the man's statement, not really paying attention, but looking out for one person in particular in the crowd. The red headed scribe was just about to walk past them when he noticed his father and Riku, having caught Riku's searching eye. As the crowd dispersed, Percy approached the two, his father looking at him in complete surprise.

"Father," Percy nodded towards Mr Weasley, before turning to Riku and glaring. "You. We need to talk."

Riku smirked, "Nice to see you too," then turned to Mr Weasley and said, "I need to speak with him for a while, can I meet you at the entrance to the Ministry? Thanks!" And Riku waved to the confused Mr Weasley as Percy grabbed him by the collar and dragged him off.

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><p><strong>This chapter was kind of a messy thing to write out considering everything... <strong>

**Firstly I wanted a fight to occur during the hearing but I realized I didn't want Percy to blow his cover way too early. Secondly there was the hearing itself, which had me searching the reading the books fics for book five for some of the lines. Lastly I realized I couldn't fit Percy and Harry's fight in the chapter without messing things with the chapter title, thus I had to cut it out. Thus, this chapter was almost like the original Hearing chapter, only with Riku getting cleared legally and Dumbles not saving his ass. **

**I was having loads of trouble writing out the chapter as you can see... its also a lot shorter than what I wanted it to be... and there was the fact that I was having/preparing for my exams for the past month... So I'm really sorry if the chapter was totally not up to standard and characters turn out totally OOC.**

**In other news... flaimingdarkfox, thank you for leaving the 50th review today! Even if it was to ask for more! I pretty much was biding my time waiting for someone to leave the 50th review for the past two weeks! It was at 49 for that long... So all of you get a new chapter at no. 50! **

**Next chapter will cover Axel's little conversation with Riku, and the confrontation between Lucius Malfoy and Riku, but it will turn out very oddly for Riku because of something I have planned that affects the Malfoy family in some way... So I hope this little spoiler will keep you all happy!**

**And lastly... the guessing game as to who is currently reincarnated... Everyone probably guessed it, Luna is Namine! But the second... Some have gotten the person reincarnated correct, while others have gotten who said person was reincarnated into correct... BUT SO FAR ONLY ONE HAS BOTH RIGHT! As for the reincarnated villain bit... I'd like to mention that I chose people who had some connection to Sora in some way, and this character is one that you would pity a lot when you read the Birth By Sleep Novel. So keep guessing! **

**Anyways... Read and Leave a Review as always! (And help me improve this terrible chapter please... I don't have a beta...)**

**Kiri Kaitou Clover**


	9. Arguments with a Red-head, Malfoy-

**Disclaimer in the first few chapters. Please look there if that is all you are looking for. Also...**

**100 FOLLOWERS WOOHOO! ninjadearka, thank you for being the 100th follower for this fic!**

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><p><strong><em>Chapter 7: Arguments with a Red-head, Malfoy, and a Party<em>**

_Ministry of Magic, 9th floor_

Moving to the 9th floor and having gotten far enough from his father, Percy finally stopped dragging Riku, who had not struggled the entire time. Instead the red-head just glared at the boy, waiting for the explanation he had demanded out of Riku during the trial.

Seeing this, Riku just gave a smug greeting, "Hello again No. VIII."

"'Hello again' my ass. What are you doing here Riku?" Axel growled, rather annoyed at Riku's nonchalant attitude.

"Why else would I be here? I got reincarnated," Riku said.

Axel snorted. "As Harry Potter of all people. You'd think it was Kingdom Heart's way of giving payback for blindly giving in to the darkness."

Wincing at that particular jab at his past, Riku changed the topic, "Well I was not expecting more of us to be reincarnated in the first place."

"More?" Axel knew that some of them had been reincarnated, but to find out about them so soon…

"Zack Fair and Cloud Strife got reincarnated in this world as well," Riku explained.

"I don't really know them but… Huh. So _her_ prediction about memories of old returning was true…" Axel muttered.

Hearing this Riku questioned, "Hm? Who's '_her'_?"

Axel chuckled, "You'll probably meet her when you return to Hogwarts this term. Oh, by the way…" Drawing back his arm Axel gave Riku a solid punch to the face.

Riku not being able to react fast enough, felt his cheek swell as he clutched it in pain.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"That was for fucking kidnapping Roxas and replacing his memories!"

"You're still mad about that?!"

"Of course I'm still mad!"

"Get over it, you hot head! It's been years!"

"Hot head?! I'm a hot head?!"

"Yes, you!"

"Well, you're the jealous prick who hates anyone close to Sora!"

"I'm jealous?! What about you! You Roxas obsessed idiot!"

Of course with that one punch, insults were then flung back and forth between the two. Hearing the sudden rise in volume of their discussion, the Ministry employees, who had been ignoring the two previously, turned their attention to Riku and Axel. They did not understand what was going on and worried that a fight would soon break out between the two, insults turning into spells. This verbal fight was interrupted by someone though.

"Assistant Weasley and… Patronus Potter," Came the snide voice of one Lucius Malfoy.

"What!" Riku growled, rather annoyed at the interruption.

Hearing the tone of disrespect in his voice the green clad man pointed out mockingly, "You seem to be causing quite a… commotion here."

"I'm settling a disagreement with Weasley here, _Lord Malfoy_. Of course it would be noisy," Riku explained sarcastically.

Malfoy just gave a sneer, "I really don't know how you managed to worm your way out of that trial but…" His face scrunched up with an annoyed look as he seemed to remember something before directing the oddly quiet Minister Fudge behind him away. "Come Minister. We have things to discuss."

And as the two men walked away, Axel shuddered while Riku pondered at the odd feeling the man gave off.

"I really hate that slimy bastard. I can't believe the Minster actually accepts bribes from such a suspicious man!" Axel muttered, not caring that he revealed that the Minister accepted such bribes.

Riku though, ignored the red head's muttering as he wondered, "He seemed kind of annoyed today. Normally that man would take any opportunity to insult me. Something must have happened at the Malfoy Manor."

"Or maybe he's just disgusted at how people of our standing, a last of an ancient family, and a pureblood, can act like barbarians and argue like that."

Riku gave a laugh at that comment, "True to that!"

Axel then looked down to his watch before blinking in surprise, and said to Riku, "Look, we'll discuss more on our situation another time. I have work to do, so I'll send you a missive whenever I can."

Riku, realizing that their argument had been longer than expected and he had left Mr Weasley waiting, nodded in agreement, "Got it. I'll send you the details of our reincarnation via Hedwig."

Axel, hearing this, smirked before running off to his office, while Riku made his way to the Ministry atrium, where a pacing Mr Weasley waited.

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><p><em>No. 12, Grimmauld's Place<em>

The minute Riku stepped into Grimmauld's Place and announced his win against the court, cheers erupted throughout the house. Mrs Weasley made preparations for a party, and that night everyone celebrated. Of course, during all the ruckus, someone decided to spike the drinks, prompting Moody to glare at the Fred and George, who were whistling innocently. Sirius just stood by the side snickering at their antics while Remus shook his head in disappointment.

Ron and Ginny, deciding to take advantage of the rather relaxed atmosphere, tried to confront Riku once again. This attempt was thwarted when they were distracted by Hermione and some of the twins' pranks going off, namely Canary Creams on some of the desserts that had been laid out.

However, the guest of honour was not even at the party. Having taken enough food for himself, Riku had locked himself in Buckbeak's room, thankful that Hermione and the twins had kept anyone from noticing his early disappearance from the party. As the boy sat next to the Hippogriff eating his food, Riku began reminiscing about the party they had after he had rescued Sora from his nightmare during the Mark of Mastery exam.

_*Flashback*_

_Waking up from attempting to wake Sora from his dream, Riku had not expected to see the other wide awake and partying with Donald and Goofy. Shouting at him to catch his attention, Sora turned around and seeing Riku awake, flew forward to hug him._

"_Riku… You're safe! Riku!" Sora exclaimed._

_Riku felt that this had definitely happened once before, though he had a feeling it was him who should have said it to Sora. _

"_Wait, haven't we got this backwards?" Riku asked, then taking advantage of Sora's silence to add on, "And why are you having a tea party?"_

_And of course, Sora promptly ignored his question and went back to hugging him. Giving up, Riku just inquired about Sora's wellbeing, his heart content with the fact that his lover had returned to the physical world safe and sound. _

_That party had continued on for a while, but it had given Riku a chance to be at Sora's side after being separated during the test the entire time. The blue eyed boy just took Riku's protectiveness in stride, enjoying the other's presence._

_*End Flashback*_

That party had been enjoyable, mainly because it had Sora as the center of it all. Riku missed Sora, and after seeing Axel and hearing that there was probably more people other than them yet to be reincarnated or found, it made his heart long for Sora. As Riku took a sip of his drink and laid the remainder of his food on the ground for Buckbeak, he had one hopeful thought on his mind.

'_Maybe we will see each other again in this World, in this time…_'

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><p><strong>This fic has reached a 100 followers... I am so happy and thankful to the people who have constantly followed this fic for this long! <strong>

**Anyways this chapter is a celebratory chapter for 2 things. I PASSED MY EXAMS HOORAY! and 100 FOLLOWERS YAY! ****I put off writing this chapter for the past few weeks mainly because I was worried for my examination results. And yesterday it came out and I scrambled to write this chapter out. **

**The Axel vs Riku fight is more like insults being thrown back and forth thanks to Axel finally getting payback against Riku for kidnapping Roxy. Malfoy is annoyed at something, and because I'm skipping the boggart chapter, the reason WILL appear in the next chapter. And I'm sorry Sora only appears in a flashback for this! I really missed Sora, and as a main character, I thought I should at least let him appear in a flashback. Also, Sora and Riku are in an established relationship! There were a small number of hints in the first chapter. So if you weren't expecting it, you really should have looked at the summary since there was a mention of slash being present. Not explicit though. I can't write those.**

**And on the game of 'guess who's been reincarnated', I forgot to mention that the villain will only appear at the end of 5th year. Some of you got it right on the first guess too. So, whoops! Two reincarnated characters will appear in the next chapter though, so look forward for them.**

**Please Read and Review!**

**Kiri Kaitou Clover**


	10. The Journey from Platform Nine and -

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Harry Potter. Do I look like I'm rich? No? Then quit asking!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 8: The Journey from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, TAKE 2<strong>

The days leading up to their return to Hogwarts became a hectic mess. Booklists finally arrived, and along with it, prefect badges for Hermione and Ron. Riku internally felt that Hermione deserved it, but Ron really didn't. Either way, it led to a party once Molly Weasley caught wind of it. A party that ended in disaster the moment she found a boggart in one of the rooms. Riku had stood by watching as they destroyed the creature, unmoving and expressionless, since he understood the woman's fears of losing those dearest to her.

The next day though, Riku realised he had foolishly destroyed all the keys to his vaults except for the ones he now carried. Rushing to Sirius and Remus, he immediately explained the problem, and with their backing, he was able to convince Molly to let him come with her to collect his books.

Then on the day they were supposed to head to King's Cross, everyone was scrambling around to pack except Riku and Hermione. The two were just sitting in the living room reading the books they had out waiting for the chaos to settle down. Sirius had already turned into his dog form and laid at Riku's feet while Remus kept looking at his watch. And when they were all done, they piled up into a car that had much more space than it was supposed to.

Reaching the station, saying goodbyes – "Zack, be careful okay." "Bark!" "I'll make sure the puppy behaves, Harry. Go ahead and board." – and finally boarding the train, Riku just wanted to find a compartment to rest in. Of course, as it turned out most of them were full. Well almost all of them.

Riku, while avoiding Ginny, had bumped into Neville, who recognised him despite the changes in his appearance ("It's your eyes Harry." Neville explained.). The two found one compartment with only one person in it. A petite blond girl sat there, a crayon in hand sketching in her book. Standing at the door, Riku then asked, "Excuse me miss, may we join you in this compartment?"

The girl looked up at him, and seeing the blue eyes set in that familiar face, it shocked Riku, as sitting in front of him was the former Nobody of Kairi, Naminé. Naminé looked at him, a knowing smile on her face as she gestured for Neville and Riku to take a seat.

"I see you've connected your chain of memories, Harry," Naminé said with a smile on her face. The boy, having taken his seat, just chuckled in response, "I've met you several times before, but not once have I gotten your name."

The blond just giggled, and Riku looked in surprise at how happy the girl was. The last time they had seen each other was when she returned to Kairi, but he was glad that Naminé had been given a second chance. The girl then replied, still giggling, "It's Luna, Harry. Luna Lovegood. But…" She turned her head to Neville, "I'm afraid I don't know who you are, even if I've seen you before."

"Er – I'm nobody," Neville muttered.

Riku tapped the boy gently on the head, eliciting a soft 'Ow' from Neville, and sighed as he introduced them to each other, "Luna, this is Neville Longbottom, who really needs some confidence in himself outside of Herbology."

Naminé gave Neville a smile and said, "Nice to meet you Neville. I'm Luna Lovegood, Fourth Year Ravenclaw."

Neville smiled back at the gesture, before turning to Riku, "Hey, guess what I got for my birthday?"

"Another Remembrall?" Riku guessed, remembering the little device that had a tendency to glow red whenever it found its way into his hands. He wondered what would happen now if he touched it. Probably would stay clear now that he had retrieved his memories.

"Nope. Take a look at this," Neville said proudly as he took out a cactus like plant from his bag, "_Mimbulus mimbletonia_. My great-uncle Algie got it for me in Assyria. It's really, really rare. I don't know if there's one in the greenhouses of Hogwarts, even. I can't wait to show it to Professor Sprout… I'm going to see if I can breed from it."

"Rare?" Riku asked.

"Yes, you see it has a really interesting defence mechanism…" Neville said as he passed Luna his frog and got out his wand, but Luna warned him off, "Neville, if it's a defence mechanism, it might not be a good idea to trigger it in an enclosed space."

Neville froze and looked rather embarrassed for not thinking about the consequences earlier. Riku, who had cast a Reflega around himself as a safety measure, sighed in relief and dispelled the shield. Then, the compartment door opened.

"Hello Harry," said the black haired girl, Cho Chang. Riku sighed once again, this time a little annoyed, "Hello Cho."

Flinching at his rather cold tone of voice, Cho muttered, "Um… I… Well… just thought I'd say hello – so… um… Bye, then…"

She closed the door behind her. Riku sighed, wondering what the hell he was thinking when he asked her out during his fourth year. Neville looked at him as if he was crazy, "Harry, did you just scare her off? I thought you liked her!"

Riku's glare silenced any further comments from Neville, causing the boy to whimper. Naminé though, began to draw on her sketch book and said, "He already has someone special in mind, Neville, someone named S –"

"_Silencio_!" Riku muttered with his wand pointed at the blond, causing Naminé to pout, but she began giggling (soundlessly of course) when she saw the light blush dusting Riku's face. Neville just looked on in confusion.

Some time later, the door slid open and a plump, smiling witch poked her head in. "Anything off the trolley, dears?"

Riku and Neville jumped to their feet, returning a few minutes later with their arms full of sweets (Mainly chocolate frogs), Riku's pile being noticeably less than Neville's. Giving a few to Naminé, the three began snacking quietly.

The compartment door slid open again and Ron and Hermione entered, Crookshanks prowling closely behind them and a noisy Pigwidgeon in tow. Ron hastily stuffed his owl up beside Hedwig's cage (Causing her to hoot in annoyance), made a grab for a Frog from Riku's pile (Which elicited a growl from the silver streaked, black haired teen), and plopped down in the seat furthest from Riku (Who was still rather upset with the red-head). Hermione, who had sat down next to Naminé after the two introduced themselves (The silencing charm had worn off), sighed tiredly.

Riku, wondering what would have caused the bookworm such stress, asked, "Long day?"

Hermione pursed her lips disapprovingly, "Well, there are two fifth-year prefects from each House. Boy and girl from each. Guess who's a Slytherin prefect."

"Don't tell me it's Malfoy?" Neville asked.

Ron, despite sitting far from the group, then said, "Him and Parkinson."

Riku just groaned in annoyance. Hermione though, continued, "But I was surprised at the change in Malfoy."

"Change? What sort?" Riku looked at her questioningly.

"Attitude wise, he seems more, quiet and angry for some reason. I wonder if something happened at home," Hermione explained.

Riku then thought back to his hearing, '_I wonder if this was what Lucius Malfoy was rather upset about…'_

Hermione continued speaking, "His attire is another change. It looked like some muggle outfit most teenagers wear. Wristbands, pendants, chains. But his hair style, I really don't think his father would have approved of it."

Naminé then interrupted, "Let me guess, messy spikes?"

Blinking in surprise, Hermione then exclaimed, "Exactly! How did you know?"

Taking out her crayons and sketchbook, Naminé began drawing while explaining, "Considering his former appearance and adding on his current attire, I can guess what he looks like. Give me a moment."

Completing her picture, she placed her sketch book down for everyone in the compartment to see, "He looks like this, doesn't he."

Hermione looked at the sketch in shock, as it was a perfect replica of what she had seen in her own memories, "How…"

Riku, recognising the person in the sketch, felt his eyes widen in shock, '_Does this mean that _He's_ here too?!'_

The compartment door slid open for a third time, and the person in the sketch walked in and sat himself right next to Hermione, before placing his head on the table with a great sigh. Hermione looked at him incredulously, Ron looked like he wanted to kill him, Neville had retreated under his seat in slight fear, while Riku's shock was now clearly visible on his face. Naminé was the only one who wasn't reacting shocked in any way. Rather, she was smiling happily.

Hermione was the first to speak up, "Umm… Malfoy? Why are you sitting next to me? I thought you hated Muggleborns."

"Hermione, just kick him out! He's a slimy Slytherin!" Ron yelled out angrily before he got hit by a silencing charm from Riku, who began glaring at the red-head. Riku then turned to Malfoy and asked, "What now?"

Mutters began to be heard from the blond male, "Stupid father and his influence. Stupid Goyle and Crabbe. Stupid me. Can't believe I was such a bully. Rather make an enemy out of Slytherin than have you as an enemy, Potter," At the last statement, the blond looked up at Riku, revealing a glare in the sky blue eyes that dared Riku to disagree.

Hermione, Neville and Ron's eyes bugged out as they all realized the meaning behind Malfoy's words. Naminé leaned over Hermione to hug Malfoy before greeting him, "Nice to see you again, O One Who Holds the Key to Destiny!"

Malfoy, recognizing the girl, greeted back while letting her hug him, "Nice to see you again, O One Who Breaks and Binds the Chain of Memories."

Riku twitched with a frown on his face as he realized that sitting in front of him, was Roxas, the Nobody of Sora, reincarnated into one Draco Malfoy.

Three reincarnations have met once again. Of the six people in the compartment, only three understood the implications of such a meeting. However, even outside of the compartment, no one but the three would know what had just happened, as they had all been scared away by one word shouted by three Gryffindors.

"WHAAAAAAAT?!"

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><p><strong>HI EVERYONE! HOPE YOU ENJOYED CHAPTER 8! AND HOORAY 10,000 VIEWS!<strong>

**Yup this fic has reached 10,000 views (Boy was I surprised!) and has actually gone over that point before I posted this chapter! It makes me really happy that people read this fic! Anyways - SUMMARY TIME!**

**As most of you can tell, I skipped over the boggart chapter. Why? Because outside of celebrating Hermione and Ron's position as prefects and revealing Molly Weasley's deepest fears, it didn't really do much. Also, Riku made a blunder when he destroyed all the keys before replacing them! Doesn't really impact the plot much, but when hiding things from Dumbles, well... Also, Naminé and Roxas join the fray! All of you who guessed that Draco Malfoy was Roxas, congrats, you got it right! And most of you can tell that Roxas' rebellious streak was what Lucius Malfoy was annoyed about last chapter. As for why those two referred to each other as "O One Who blahblahblah" they can't exactly call each other by name! Riku's an exception since "everyone knows Harry Potter". Also, an alliance is formed between Riku and Roxas, though the three Gryffs don't know that.  
><strong>

**Now lets look at the number of reincarnations we have so far:**

**Riku - Harry  
>Sora - ? OC - Only in 6th Book<br>Axel/Lea - Percy  
>Roxas - Draco<br>Naminé - Luna  
>Zack - Sirius<br>Cloud - Remus  
>Unknown KH Antagonist - ? OC - Only in 6th Book<br>****Unknown KH Character - ? HP Character - 5th Book  
>Unknown KH Character - ? OC - Only in 6th Book<strong>

**10 reincarnations, three characters not **revealed as reincarnations yet, and four characters whose reincarnations are unknown. Three of which are OCs who appear during the 6th book though.** **

****Next two chapters are In the Backgrounds for **Naminé and Roxas. Look forward to those!******

****Now... AN OMAKE! (Hope its silly enough!)****

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><p><strong>Omake 1: Who else could be reincarnations? (FFVII - Crisis Core crossover, note that this does not follow the fanfiction's plot at all. It's just a joke!)<strong>

Remus had been busy grooming Buckbeak when Sirius dashed into the room pale and panicking. Blinking in surprise, the werewolf asked, "What's wrong Zack?"

Sirius just shivered, "I was just wondering who James, Lily and Snivellus would be if they were all reincarnations. Then when I made comparisons... Hide me from Snivellus, Cloud! Please! He'll skin me alive if I'm right!"

Remus twitched in annoyance before wondering, _'Let's see. Lily, while she was a charms master, was very good at elemental and summoning magic, and there was her temper. James was very adamant about upholding honor whenever he battled. And Severus... From what Lily told me, he was very calculating and cold, but a little more open when with friends. Now who do I... know... Shit.'_

Remus shivered at the thought. He really did not want to believe that James, Lily and Severus were the reincarnations of Angeal, Genesis, and _Sephiroth_ of all people! If so... he was freaking doomed. Especially since Severus could simply poison him in revenge for killing off so many times in his previous lives.

Remus looked at Sirius and said, "Let's get out of Europe right now before he receives any memories and decide to kill the both of us."

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><p>Back at Hogwarts, Severus Snape sneezed, and wondered if he had to poison the one that had been thinking about him.<p>

And up in the Lifestream, Sephiroth laughed at the fact that Cloud was running at the sign of him for once in his entire life, even if it was just a speculation.

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><p><strong>Read and Review!<strong>

**Kiri Kaitou Clover**

**(Btw, promoting a new fic. Venquine1990 and I are doing a Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance ending AU fic together, both with slightly different plots. Both fics are named Never They Cannot, with different summaries to identify them. It diverges from canon when Y!Xehanort puts Sora to sleep. We would really appreciate it if you would go have a look and leave some reviews!)**


	11. ItB 3

**Here, I shall disclaim any ownership of these series: Kingdom Hearts and Harry Potter. I don't own.**

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><p><strong>In the Background 3: Binding the Memory Linking Chains<strong>

If one were to enter the Luna Lovegood's room in the Lovegood House or look at her bed in Ravenclaw, one would have been treated to small drawings scattered around the area. Some slightly childish, and some professionally drawn. But if one looked closely, each drawing told a story.

The first set of her drawings were of an island. Some were of two children sitting together watching the stars. Two were of meetings during the setting sun of the two children and two warriors. Another was of a broken teen who was split in two, abandoned on the island. Yet another was of a faded image of that same teen, joining hands with one of the children, as said child held a glowing light to his chest. Then a third child joined the other two in all the future pictures, all three getting older. Silver was the Land, Red was the Sea, Brunette was the Sky, Luna had named the three when she first drew them.

Her next set of drawings were of the Sky, and what seemed to be herself, she once believed. What seemed to be herself in a glided cage, Selene Lovegood said to Luna when she saw what her daughter had drawn. It was the first set of drawings that she had appeared in, and thus, Luna had sought her mother's advice, who had been surprised that her daughter had a Seer ability that manifested through drawings. But be it past or future, Selene did not know which the drawings referred to. Selene decided to name this version of her daughter Wave.

Luna's third set of drawings were of yet another trio, Blond, Black and Red. Destiny, Tide and Flame. The trio often wore black cloaks whenever she drew them, and spent their time in a town of twilight. But one day, Tide disappeared, and Destiny and Flame broke apart. Luna didn't understand why she had drawn that, but tears filled her eyes, and her heart was filled with regret of an unknown source when she first drew the two apart, and of the missing Tide.

The fourth and last set of drawings that followed the story of the previous three, was of both Sky and Destiny, of Wave and Destiny's connection, of Flame's sacrifice, of Sky and Destiny's own connection, of Land's involvement, of the reunion of Land, Sea and Sky, and of leaving Sky and Land behind to defeat an enemy Luna didn't know of.

It was the fourth and last set, because the night after Luna finished drawing them all, dreams over took her mind, dreams of each and every scene that took place in her drawings, and how most of them were in the perspective of Wave or Sea. Once in a while, she caught a glimpse of those who had not been part of her pictures but were involved, and she always woke up screaming. A scythe of petals, a crackle of sharp lightning. Luna flinched whenever she saw the color pink or a flash of lightning in the distance. But whenever she dreamed of a pair of intricately shaped keys or beautiful dancing flames, she felt the feeling of brotherly protectiveness wash over her.

The dreams continued, getting more and more prominent as each month passed. Then it happened.

A ritual gone wrong, the death of her mother in an attempt to protect her. The trauma of loosing a parent, someone who cared for her and helped her with her abilities as a seer, it caused something to snap into place. That night, when Luna cried herself to sleep, no dreams came. But when she awoke, she _remembered._

Luna, no, _Naminé_ remembered everything. Names, faces, spells, books, and _emotions_. Naminé cried when she realized that she truly had a heart of her own, that she had been given a second chance as her own existence.

The dreams stopped. Naminé was sent to their neighbors, the Weasleys, while her father continued to mourn for the loss of Selene. But the night before she joined the Weasleys to pick up their children in Hogwarts, she didn't know why or how, but she began to draw. Weasley-red hair, blue eyes, neatly dressed in a Hogwarts uniform, facing the right. Flaming red hair set into long spikes, emerald green eyes, dressed in a black coat, facing the left. A slowly forming chain extended from the one in the Hogwarts uniform, to the one in the black coat. Luna fell asleep as the last part of the drawing was complete.

When she awoke, Naminé looked on at her drawing in surprise, seeing Percy Weasley and Axel, the Flurry of Dancing Flames. First herself, and now Axel? Kingdom Hearts must have done something for the two of them to be reincarnated. But the chains… He didn't have all of his memories, just like she didn't before her mother's death. She closed her sketch book, took out a pencil (That could change its colors, a gift from her mother) slid it into the bindings, and headed down to join the Weasleys for breakfast.

When they reached the platform, Naminé smiled when she saw Percy disembark, seeing his eyes flicker between green and blue as it tried to decide between amused or exasperated when he looked at the twins. And when Percy approached her, Naminé decided to leave a message, hoping he would understand when the time came.

_"I see you're slowly putting the pieces of your memory together. You may want to complete them soon, as Kingdom Hearts has set several changes in motion."_

And as she walked off, Naminé sketched out a picture of Axel, fire dancing in the background.

As months flew by, new drawings similar to her first one after her mother's death began to appear in her room. Black hair with green eyes versus silver hair with blue-green eyes, platinum blond with grey eyes versus bright blond with sky blue eyes, brown hair with blue eyes versus black hair with sky blue eyes, and brown hair with blue eyes, whose chain just wasn't complete. Naminé knew that they were the ones who had been reborn, but had not completed their memories, as indicated by their chains.

Then there were those who had a completed chain. Tawny brown with brown turned yellow eyes versus blond with glowing blue eyes that bled into green, a wolf howling in the background as clouds covered a moonlit sky. Wavy black and grey eyes versus messy spiked black and glowing blue, almost violet eyes, a black dog prowling in the background as constellations littered the sky. Spiky blond hair with blue eyes, wind blowing the leaves in the background. And spikey black with glowing yellow eyes, gears turning in the background along with a flying crow.

As time passed and she went to Hogwarts, she watched from a far three whose chains were not complete, once in a while drawing out the futures of them all. Axel had approached her earlier and gave her a warm hug, quietly proclaiming to her that she was his honorary little sister, and apologizing for hurting her in the past. She smiled and just asked him to watch out for one of three, but never mentioned who. It could have been Potter, it could have been Malfoy, but she was sure he picked Potter and she giggled at the thought of him realizing who Harry Potter was.

In her second year, Naminé blinked when she saw who was at the DADA chair that year, and laughed. She knew the puppy was innocent, her drawings told her so, but it was up to the wolf to find that out himself. So she drew events of that year, of confrontations regarding familial connections, of long held grudges, and of a betrayal brought forth. Though, Naminé freaked out when she had to deal with her Boggart, since Marluxia and Larxene were her fears. Luckily the wolf intervened, while looking at her oddly, and she knew it was because he recognized the Organisation coat.

In her third year, it started with her drawing picture after picture almost frantically, her dorm mates looking at her like she was crazy, as usual. When she saw what was to come, she informed Axel.

_"His reawakening draws near Percy. Be prepared, for everything will change. Alliances made, bonds forged and broken, memories of old returning."_

It was an event set in stone. Naminé knew she couldn't change it, not when Potter had not completed his chain. So she waited.

She boarded the train to Hogwarts once more, not expecting anyone to enter her compartment. But _Riku_ came into her compartment, greeting her like an old friend, and _Roxas_ _remembered her_.

Naminé did not always foresee everything in their lives, but sometimes, not knowing made her smile, because she knew the one thing she could never foresee was her own fate or involvement in their stories, because its path had many turns, and only her decisions could determine what path it took. Kingdom Hearts had plans for this world, and if its path fell in line with her path, so be it.

And during the beginning of that year, only two pictures made its way into the Ravenclaw dorm, of friends of the past, drawn with crayons, like that of children's drawings and of friends of the present, drawn with pencils, sketched and drawn beautifully as one by one, reincarnations gathered.

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><p><strong>Hi everyone! This is part one of two updates for this story! Its Naminé's In the Background chapter if it wasn't obvious enough, but it also contains spoilers as to WHO are the remaining three I've chosen among the KH characters to be reincarnated. Now, explanation time!<strong>

****1) Drawings - Naminé, actually having Seer blood, expresses her past self's memories via sketches and drawings in crayons or any other drawing tools. She is still a little quirky, but much less compared to the canon Luna.  
>2) Memories - Now, depending on the person, and the trauma, something can trigger an early merger of memories and past and present self. Appropriate triggers would be the incident that caused Remus to be turned into a werewolf. <strong>Naminé's is the death of her mother. Hence, she gets all her memories early.<br>3) Names she gave to KH characters - Pre-Hogwarts Luna, because I have no idea what she was like, I made her a little quirky by naming the people in her drawings after certain things. She gets it from her mother. Anyway almost all of them are the Japanese to English translations of the KH team's names. Roxas and Lea are exceptions.  
>4) Vision sketches - Its everyone I plan on reincarnating. Make your guesses as to who is who. I made them really obvious too!<strong>****

******Again, this is just part one of my update. The next part is Roxas's turn, plus a little continuation of the previous chapter. Please review both chapters though, so that I know people have actually read both chapters!******

******And Guest who reviewed today? Be happy that I was planning on a double update! I was laughing so much that you happened to leave a review today of all days!******

******Kiri Kaitou Clover******

******(Repeating my self - READ AND REVIEW!)******


	12. ItB 4

**MUAHAHAHA! DOUBLE UPDATE! Please check the previous chapter first if you haven't read it. I updated twice today. And please leave a review so I'll know you read both. **

**Also... 100 favorites today (Only after I posted the previous chapter though.)! Thank you Sasukitsu for being the 100th person to fave this fic!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own KH and HP. Yes I'm using short forms. Look back at some of the other chapters for a somewhat proper disclaimer...**

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><p><strong>In the Background 4: Turning the Key that Unlocks Paths to Destiny<strong>

Draco Malfoy always felt something was wrong in his life. Even as a child, he always felt that something was out of place, but he didn't consciously tried to find out why. He simply followed what his father told him to do, how to act, how to talk, who to talk to, who NOT to talk to. Honestly, before Hogwarts, he acted like a robot (not that he knew what one was like at the time), doing whatever it was told. While his father approved, Narcissa Malfoy often looked on at her son in sadness.

Then he met Harry Potter during his first year, who, for some reason, incited a surge of emotion, anger, hate, annoyance, jealousy. Draco confided his mother about them, and while she told him never to act on them, he recklessly did so anyway. Maybe it was the green eyes, green eyes that he always felt belonged on the wrong face (**AN: ****Crap, he sounds like Severus here…**), or maybe it was the way he always thought Potter was taunting him. Maybe that was why he retaliated the way he did, taunted back, tried to act more powerful then he really was. It didn't bear any fruit, since the nagging feeling was still there.

Draco had his first set of memory like dreams then. A dark city, a towering building with odd lights (_Neon lights_, his mind supplied.), and a never ending rain. Dark creatures that crept out of the ground, only to be dispersed by oddly designed key shaped swords. Silver hair and a blindfold, taunting him while he responded back playfully, mind not comprehending what he said. Assertion of self, then, the scene fading to darkness.

Draco didn't think much about the dream, but it did make him more hostile to Potter. And allow him to develop a sense of self. He was still dependent on his father's influence though. His mother, on the other hand, was rather pleased at his emotional growth.

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><p>In his second year, Draco found someone odd within the Weasley Clan. Percy Weasley was an odd one, since, according to what he saw during his first year, he was more cunning, and more ambitious than a regular lion should be. Blue eyes watched the fighting parents in annoyance. Draco himself looked on at the fight, coldly analyzing the reactions nearby, but he noticed that someone was watching him. He turned to look in the direction of the gaze, only to find Percy Weasley staring back. And the interest grew.<p>

As he used the incident regarding the Heir of Slytherin to bring fear to the Mudbloods (Oh how he hated that term. Weren't they all descended from said 'Mudbloods'?), Draco carefully watched the actions of one Percy Weasley. Said Weasley subtly tried to move Potter's attention away from the mystery of the Chamber of Secrets, and pretty much explode when the only female Weasley sibling was dragged down to the Chambers. And Draco watched from afar as the so called goody two shoes of the Weasley siblings made a plan with the twins to cause a little trouble for their traitorous younger siblings.

A second set of memory like dreams filled his mind throughout the year. Dreams of waking up in front of an abandoned mansion, being given a new name, being introduced to twelve others, meeting a man with flaming red hair and piercing green eyes, meeting a girl with black hair and sky blue eyes – dreams were fuzzy whenever it centered around her – the three of them playing pranks on the up tight members of the group, whenever they worked together on missions, and of how each time, they ate sea-salt ice-cream while watching the sunset at the top of the clock tower. And then, something tore them apart.

_"Your mind's made up?"_

_"Why did the Keyblade chose me? I have to know."_

_"You can't turn on the Organization! You get on their bad side and they'll destroy you!"_

_"No one would miss me."_

_"That's not true! I would." _

That last dream, made Draco ask himself, 'What Keyblade?', 'What Organization?', 'Who are you?' and 'Why does my heart feel so much regret? Regret for leaving the red haired man?'. Draco asked, but got no answer in return. All he could hope was for the dreams to reveal more to him.

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><p>Third year was honestly confusing. Other than that confrontation regarding the Hippogriff, Draco didn't deal with Potter so much that year, because he actually enjoyed himself. At least that year, the DADA teacher was competent. But maybe his godfather shouldn't have been so hasty to chase the man away, even if he was a werewolf.<p>

Draco dreamed again. This time of a blue haired yellow eyed man that sent a chill down his spine. Of a fight to escape the white castle that prevented him from finding the truth. The black haired girl, _his sister_, disappearing into ice crystals within his arms after he dealt the final blow that ended her existence within his own memories, and of a final promise. To eat ice-cream together.

When Draco woke from that final dream, he decided to leave the Malfoy Manor for a while. Somehow, he had ended up at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. Browsing the choices he had, his eyes widened when he saw familiar light blue bars. Quickly buying one bar, Draco made his way back to the Malfoy Manor and headed straight to the roof. The sun was setting, and he took a bite of the ice-cream.

"Salty… but surprisingly sweet. A nostalgic taste," Draco muttered to himself as he slowly finished the ice-cream. Then the Malfoy house elves found him, and he got yelled at for his recklessness by his mother. It was worth it though, being able to see the sunset, the fiery color that represented the red haired, green eyed man.

_"Bet you don't know why the sunset's red. You see, light is made up of lots of colors. And out of all those colors, red is the one that travels the farthest." _

And if the dreams were beginning to affect his waking world, he didn't really care. Draco was getting his answers, slowly, but surely.

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><p>Fourth year was when things began to become a little strange. Instead of the dreams beginning a little after the year started, Draco started having the dreams way before that year at school even began. Dreams living in town where the clock tower was, of friends, competition, that <em>red haired man<em> who his dream self somehow _did not remember_! How? How had his dream self forgotten about such an important person in his life?! Then at the start of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, the dreams just _stopped._

With the Tri-Wizard Tournament occurring that year, Draco was rather miffed with the change in pattern of the dreams. Then Death Eaters and the Dark Mark appeared at the Quidditch World Cup. He pretty much treaded lightly when speaking to his father after that, knowing instinctively that something was happening in the Wizarding World, and it wasn't a good feeling.

The rest of the year was pretty much dealing with the aftermath of Potter's illegal entry into the Tournament. Draco had been rather frustrated with the current atmosphere of the Malfoy household, and thus vented the only way he knew would satisfy him, by taunting Potter and baiting him. Honestly though, he did _not_ expect to be turned into a ferret, what more, by a _teacher_ of all people. Then there was the fact that said teacher was teaching about the Unforgivables, specifically the Imperious, by _using_ it on the _students_! Either the man was insane or Dumbledore somehow really screwed up in recruitment of his teachers this time. Draco was guessing both.

The announcement that He-who-must-not-be-named was back at the end of the tournament was NOT something Draco had expected though. It DID explain his father's rather odd actions during the beginning of the school year though.

The dreams came back after that with full force, and more vividly than before. Of fighting Axel (He finally knew the name of the red haired man!) to the point of him fading, of fighting on top of a stained glass circle against someone who he acknowledged as his Other (He knew it was a classification of sorts. He just didn't understand what it was for.), of meeting a ghostly girl, a blue eyed blond in the abandoned mansion, promising to meet her again, of passing on his memories to the person he considered his Other, of seeing Axel once again, alive and well. Then there were the nightmares of the creatures of darkness, of a wasteland of fallen blades, of a desperate battle. And after that the process repeated.

The dreams made him more irritable than normal, leading to him having arguments with his father (Which never happened before! Never!), snapping back at the Malfoy portraits that scattered the hall way when they whispered about his change in attitude instead of ignoring them like he did in the past, and leaving the house more often for Sea-salt ice cream before heading to the roof of the Malfoy manor to watch the sunset.

It was only when Draco fainted on his birthday due to a lack of sleep and finally told Narcissa Malfoy about the reoccurring dreams he had been having that he even knew what was going on.

"I honestly wasn't expecting this to happen to you of all people, Draco. Then again, it does explain some of your stranger behaviors," his mother muttered, while looking through the set of books from the Black family library she had created copies of before she had gotten married.

"Mother, it keeps feeling like there are two sets of memories and emotions in me! And I can't seem to control how it affects me in the waking world!" Draco complained, his head pounding from the constant dreams since for some reason, Dreamless Sleep had zero effect in suppressing them.

Narcissa, finding the book that she had been looking for, handed the book to her son while explaining, "That's because your dream self is essentially you, Draco. You from a different life, but still you. The dreams are memories, while the emotions are yours. And don't worry too much, you aren't the first Black to go through this."

Taking the book titled _**Past Dreams, How to deal with Reincarnation**_ from his mother, Draco continued to rub his forehead while sighing, "Who else had to deal with such a headache and multitude of dreams…"

"Well, my cousin Sirius went through this as well, seeing that I helped him trash the Black Library searching for that book in your hands. Despite what the rest of the Wizarding World seem think, he cannot be a Death Eater, mainly because his past self's personality and his own prevent it from even happening," Narcissa laughed while Draco was staring wide eyed at his mother laughing off a mistake made by the Ministry. "Anyways, I'll take you to see the goblins once you read this book. They know more about the reincarnation process and will probably help you properly integrate the memories into you. Just keep this a secret from your father, since the changes may end up causing unfavorable outcomes depending on your past life. I'd rather not let him know about this since the Malfoy library had no books on reincarnation, and I would not want the Dark Lord to find out about such things either way."

And then Draco went through with the ritual in the end. Honestly, Roxas, when he finally woke up, wondered how his life would have eventually turned out if he had not been reincarnated as Draco. He probably would have ended up trying to break away from his father's hold after being given a near impossible mission to complete (In a parallel world, Draco Malfoy sneezed as he made plans to kill Dumbledore, while shivering at the sheer impossibility of the task). Better that he do it now than later, when he couldn't turn back.

Thus, Draco Malfoy and Lucius Malfoy had the longest argument in that entire month, to the point that the two ended up flinging spells at each other, spells that Draco normally didn't have the output for. The reason? Draco decided to question his father's beliefs of blood purity, and also mentioned that all that they had been doing for the past few years supporting Voldemort (Draco no longer feared that name. He had much worse things to fear, such as a never-ending world of darkness), was proving that they really represented their surname, which meant Bad Faith (Draco only knew because he had decided to translate it out of curiosity.).

It was made so much worse when Draco finally acted on some of his urges and went out to Madam Malkin's to get a set of his old outfit as Roxas and a copy of his old Organisation cloak. He ended up wearing said outfit just to anger the elder Malfoy. Narcissa just shook her head at her son's sudden rebellious streak and change in personality. From whining and arrogant with only his family name to back him up and no sense of self, to quiet anger with the magical strength to back him up, openly disrespecting his own father and actually having his own personality and not the one that his father had groomed him into having.

The rest of the time Draco had was spent avoiding any Death Eater meetings held at the Malfoy Household, and getting his mother's permission to dissolve any marriage contracts he held since he wouldn't accept any lover other than his Flame. And then when Potter somehow got himself in a disciplinary hearing, and Lucius (Draco slowly stopped acknowledging the man as his father.) had ranted at the dinner table about Potter somehow doing a color changing charm that caused his hair to turn silver. Draco had blinked in surprise at that, and made a note to keep an eye out for Potter at the station.

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><p>Seeing was believing. And Draco was openly staring in shock at the group of red heads that normally accompanied Potter, because among them was Potter, yet not. Draco shivered and wondered what the hell made him continuously bait Potter, because he really did not want his Other's pissed off silver haired boyfriend coming after him for revenge for all the shit he pulled during their school years.<p>

Ditching his 'bodyguards', heading straight to the Prefects car for his briefing, and tuning out Parkinson's harping about dissolving the marriage contract between them on the way, he was mentally preparing himself to confront Potter, or should he say Riku, when he made the attempt to make amends and hope the other would not kill him.

He made sure to stay a distance away from Granger and Weasley when they made their way to the compartment he knew Riku would be. Draco snickered silently as he eavesdropped on their conversation about his personality change. His jaw dropped when he heard Naminé's voice coming from the compartment though. Then she probably sketched out his current appearance if the silence from the compartment was any indicator. Draco took the chance to barge into the compartment and sit next to Granger, dropping down with a great sigh.

Granger questioned his sanity, Weasley wanted to kick him out and got Silenced by Riku, Naminé was smiling away, while Longbottom had hidden himself away in fear. And when Riku questioned him, Dra – no, Roxas, just muttered, "Stupid father and his influence. Stupid Goyle and Crabbe. Stupid me. Can't believe I was such a bully. Rather make an enemy out of Slytherin than have you as an enemy, Potter."

He glared at the other, daring him to disagree with his decision for a truce. And then Naminé broke the tension by hugging him, "Nice to see you again, o one who holds the key to destiny!"

Recognizing the greeting, and knowing it would be a bad idea to drop names with so many not in the know, Roxas just let the younger blond hug him while replying, "Nice to see you again, o one who breaks and binds the chain of memories."

"WHAAAAAAAT?!"

Roxas winced at the sudden shout from the three other Gryffindors in the compartment, "Not so loud will you! Granger, you're right next to me!"

"M-Ma-Malfoy are you seriously offering a truce?! You of all people?!" Granger squeaked as she continued to stare at him in complete shock.

Sighing, Roxas just muttered, "I kind of have to, after all the shit I pulled the past four years, I'd rather not have Potter coming after me for revenge," He then stared at Riku and asked, "Well?"

The silver haired teen just gave a slow blink before laughing loudly. The rest of the compartment stared at him while Roxas scowled at the other for not taking him seriously.

Calming down from his laughter, Riku smirked and gave his reply, "What choice do I have? Your boyfriend will give me yet another punch in the face, no, will burn me alive if I dare to reject your offer for truce."

Granger gaped and mouthed 'Boyfriend?' in shock, Longbottom finally coming out of his first shock only to go into another one, while Weasley looked disgusted. Naminé just hummed happily at that little tidbit. Roxas though, lunged forward and grabbed Riku by the collar and began shaking him and asking what the hell he meant while Riku started laughing once again.

In his mind, Roxas was happy, his memories was the key that had allowed him to find one of his little sisters, his so called brother-in-law, and that same person revealed that his boyfriend was alive and somewhere in the Wizarding World. So what if it seemed that some sort of destiny was pulling them back together? As long as they walked the same path, they would remain together in the heart.

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><p><strong>Yup, number two of the update today! And its Roxas' turn! Anyways, explanation time again!<strong>

**1) Memories - Again, how and when a reincarnation receives his memories form the past differs from person to person. Draco's only begin to surface after officially meeting Harry, and his dreams are very sporadic, popping in once in a while.  
>2) Narcissa Malfoy - Now I actually like her. Especially her love for her son. That's why I'm making it that she's the one who helped Sirius with finding that book about reincarnation. She isn't too supportive of Voldie in this. Being Roxas' mother in this life, she'll be playing the supportive adult for Roxas here. <strong>Sirius and Remus are the ones for Riku. <strong>  
>3) Attitude before memories - I'm trying to keep to canon Draco, with some hints of him having some sense of self even before he receives his memories. But he really does not like Riku in any form. Memory like dreams don't help.<br>4) Arguing with Malfoy Senior - Roxas is a proud person who really likes his independence. And really loves being an unique individual. So he doesn't take Malfoy Senior's attempt to reign him in very well.  
><strong>**5) Boyfriend - Yes, I intend to have SOME Akuroku in this fic.  
>6) Brother-in-law - Roxas is technically Sora's more mature twin. That means Riku will be Roxas' brother-in-law. He will not accept the fact too easily though.<strong>

**Other than that, this chapter was slightly longer since it'll be switching between Riku and Roxas sometimes during the rest of the fic. Hope you enjoyed the double update!**

**Kiri Kaitou Clover**

**Read and Review! **


	13. CHAPTER 1 AND 2 REWRITE AUTHOR'S NOTE!

CHAPTER 1 AND 2 REWRITE AUTHOR'S NOTES

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><p><strong>Hi everyone, sorry for the month of silence since I last updated. I've been trying to catch up with some studying and only managed to get today to write anything out. Though… Its not what your hoping for. <strong>

**I didn't mention it in my last update, but I was rewriting chapter 1 and 2 to be a little longer and actually fit properly into the story. The two had been bugging me for ages, so I felt a chapter rewrite was in order. Don't worry too much about chapter 2. I only made small changes for those, except for the big chunk at the front. Chapter 1 is the main issue. Put it simply, it was disgustingly short and barely covered anything. So I managed to force myself to rewrite it. From about 500 plus words… to 1500 over words. It took me a while to actually complete writing it, but I've finally managed to accomplish that today (18/9/2014). **

**Now I won't be changing the third chapter at all. That chapter was something I felt unchangeable in the story and if I did do it, any point after that would have been a disaster since it would lead to me rewriting it. **

**Anyways, I've placed this AN here for all of you to give me your comments on the two rewrites. I've posted them both up, so I need you all to read them. The old versions will be gone though... Were they good? Were they bad? Just tell me!**

**And to get you all a little interested in the next chapter, which is giving me a hard time by the way, a small chapter summary for _Chapter 9: Re: Sorting Hat's song_**

The Sorting Hat seems to have an inkling of what's going on with the world as a whole and sings something different for a change. The atmosphere in Slytherin has changed, especially since the whole Slytherin has heard the announcement of Draco Malfoy's truce with Harry. The same happens in Gryffindor, with all but Neville, Hermione, and the twins rather supportive of the alliance. Hermione, in particular, finds the need for the alliance necessary after the Sorting Hat's warning. That plus it really is much better to have some support from the snakes with the Toad (Umbridge) interfering.

**(Guys, I'm planning on posting this on AO3 as well! It'll be a backup under the same title. Not up yet though...)**


	14. Re: Sorting Hat's Song

**OblivionDoctor, thanks for being the 150****th**** follower!**

**Disclaimer: Refer to first few chapters for it. I know I don't own anything but SOME of the ideas to the story.**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 9: Re: Sorting Hat's Song<strong>_

As they stepped off the platform, Riku could feel the disbelieving stares of almost everyone on him, Hedwig hooting in discomfort over the sudden attention on her owner. Understandable, considering just who he was standing next to without trying to outwit each other with insults for once. Roxas just ignored the looks, distracting himself by talking with Namine, which made the Ravenclaws gape at him in shock, Namine's eyes glinting with dark amusement at their disbelief as she discussed with him about potions.

The Slytherins sneered at the group, but Roxas knew that they too were shocked to the core. When Riku invited Roxas with him on the carriage, the Gryffindors looked on with disgust at Roxas, but were utterly confused that _Harry Potter_ invited _Draco Malfoy_ on a carriage that contained a muggleborn, Loony Lovegood and the Boy-Who-Lived, and Draco _accepted!_

But of course, no one outside of the four in the carriage knew that the somewhat peaceful alliance was not exactly perfect.

"What do you mean you can't see what's pulling the carriage? They're right in front of us, Hermione!"

"Harry, I'm telling you there isn't anything there! The carriages have always been pulled by nothing!"

"Thestrals."

"Yes, Luna?"

"The carriages are pulled by Thestrals, Granger. Only those who've seen death can see them."

"And you're telling me you can, Malfoy?"

"Nope."

"Then how the hell do I know that you said is true?!"

"We were TOLD by our parents before we came to the school. Honestly, this is why purebloods hate muggleborns. You all have a habit of automatically assuming everything you see or hear is true!"

"I DO NOT!"

"Hermione? House elves?"

"That is different Harry! It's slavery!"

"It's only like that when families are abusive towards the house elves. Dobby was treated like that by my crazy aunt, so getting clothes saved him and he probably bonded to the nearest wizard who would have treated him well."

"And that would mean… Me?"

"You… You were the one who tricked my father into freeing Dobby?"

"That's rather cunning of you Harry."

"Understandably so, Luna."

"And why's that, Potter?"

"I am a snake in the lion's den."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"YOU MEAN YOU COULD HAVE BEEN IN SLYTHERIN?! WHAT THE HELL DROVE YOU AWAY?!"

"You, Hagrid, Ron, overall opinion of Slytherin."

"Oh. But still…"

"I wonder when the topic of conversation changed from Thestrals to Harry's placement in Gryffindor, Hermione."

"You and me both, Luna…"

And as they got off the carriage, majority of the students sighed in relief when they heard Riku and Roxas arguing over which house was better. A sense of normality washed over them when the two split and headed over to their respective tables when they arrived at the Great Hall, glaring at teach other. All the houses were still slightly tense though, looking at Riku warily, this time due to the smear campaign the Daily Prophet had going on.

Riku ignored the looks though, choosing to stare at the staff table. Ignoring Dumbledore, he noted that Snape and Professor Sprout were there as usual, and so were all the elective teachers except Hagrid. He didn't think much of it, though Ron could be heard questioning the half-giant's absence. But the one thing that had caught his eye was Professor Flitwick giving cautious glances at the one in the Defence Against Dark Arts seat. Turning his gaze towards said seat, Riku choked loudly.

"Harry?" Hermione turned to stare at him.

Getting a hold of himself, Riku muttered to the bushy haired girl, "The person in the DADA seat, if I recall correctly, is Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary of the Minister. And one of the few who voted me guilty even with evidence at the hearing."

Hermione then turned her gaze at the table and narrowed her eyes when she caught sight of the cardigan wearing woman, "You don't think – "

She never got to finish her question, since the doors to the Great Hall opened and Professor McGonagall led the first years in while carrying the stool and the Sorting Hat. Seeing the rather nervous looks on the faces of the first years, Riku gave a smile, recalling his own nervousness when he did not know how he was going to be sorted. And as the brim of the Sorting Hat opened to sing, Riku decided to tune most of it out, knowing it would probably describe the four houses. But at the last three verses, Riku's eyes went wide in shock, as the Hat had sung something he had not been expecting at all.

_Oh, know the perils, read the signs,  
>the warning the World's Heart shows,<br>for our Hogwarts is in danger  
>from Dark, external foes<em>

_And we must unite inside her  
>or we'll crumble within our Hearts<br>Find the ones, the Hearts of Rebirth  
>the children of Light and Dark<em>

_Find the Sky, Find the Land  
>They'll bring us together from Heart's within<br>I have told you, I have warned you...  
>let the Sorting now begin.<em>

The Hat became motionless once more and a scattered applause broke out, since most of the students were busy muttering and whispering about the last few verses. And as he clapped, Riku exchanged glances with Roxas and Namine, knowing that the two had caught on as to what the Hat was telling them to do. Hermione was about to ask Nearly Headless Nick about the Hat giving warnings before she was stopped by Professor McGonagall's glare at the entire student body , warning them to keep silent.

The sorting began, and applauses filled each house whenever one got sorted in to their own. Soon, all the first years were sorted, and Professor Dumbledore rose from his seat to greet them all.

"To our newcomers," said Dumbledore, his voice echoing throughout the Great Hall, "Welcome! To our old hands - welcome back! There is a time for speech-making, but this is not it. Tuck in!"

The students laughed appreciatively at Dumbledore's effort to break the tense atmosphere and began to eat, quite clatters from utensils hitting the plates and murmurs from students discussing about their holidays and about the Sorting Hat's warning soon replacing the laughter.

Hermione though immediately went back to questioning Nearly Headless Nick, prompting Riku to help take some food for her, knowing that by the time she got through with her interrogation of the ghost, most of the foods would have been replaced with dessert.

"So what were you saying before the Sorting?" Hermione asked the ghost. "About the Hat giving warnings?"

"Oh, yes!" exclaimed Nick, who seemed glad that Hermione had given him a distraction from watching them eat, particularly Ron, who was sitting a few seats down from theirs. "Yes, I have heard the Hat give several warnings before, always at times when it detects periods of great danger for the school. And always, of course, its advice is the same: stand together, be strong from within. Although…"

"Although?" Hermione pressed, wondering why the ghost was looking rather confused.

"This is, however, the first time the Hat has ever given us prophetic hints as to how to unite the Houses. It's rather different," the ghost muttered.

Hermione grimaced at that, and Riku knew why. She never did believe in fortune telling and prophesising the future, and Divination only reinforced that disbelief. Shaking her head, she changed her line of questioning, "So how does it know the school is in danger anyways?"

"I have no idea," said Nearly Headless Nick. "Of course, it lives in Dumbledore's office, so I daresay it picks things up there."

"And it wants all the houses to be friends?" Riku jumped in, giving a quick glance towards the Slytherin table, where Roxas was sitting _far_ away from his usual followers, namely Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle.

Nick just smiled, "I'd say you've already taken the first step to doing so, if what I heard from the some of the students earlier was correct."

Riku just gave a snort, "Malfoy and I only have a standing truce. It's not like the rest of Slytherin are going to jump up and declare a truce with us Gryffindors because of that."

"I wouldn't dismiss the possibility if I were you," said Nick reprovingly. "Peaceful co-operation is the key to settling such longstanding rivalries. We ghosts, though we belong to separate houses, maintain links of friendship. The Bloody Baron and I, despite the competitiveness between our Houses, rarely have arguments even if we do tend to side with our own Houses first. You just have to find a common ground."

"So the Hat is suggesting for us to have some level of unity despite the competition between our Houses, like a friendly rivalry then?" Hermione asked, having taken the time to eat the food that Riku had placed on her plate while he took over the conversation with the ghost.

"Exactly," the ghost nodded. "Now if you may excuse me, I have some first years to introduce myself to." With that, Nick readjusted his feathered hat and floated off.

"Well, that was informative," Hermione muttered as she began to finish off her plate of food, glancing at Riku in thanks for filling her plate. Riku nodded back and slowly nibbled on the treacle tart, having finished his steak while Hermione was chatting with Nick.

When all the students had finished eating and the noise level in the Hall was starting to creep upwards again, Dumbledore got to his feet once more. Talking ceased immediately as all turned to face the Headmaster. Riku once again began to tune out the notices despite Hermione's quite jabs at him to listen. He knew that it would mostly consist of warning the first years of the Forbidden Forests, re-warning some of the older students about said forest, himself included, and the rules that the caretaker, Mr Filch, had. The only time he paid any attention, was the introduction to the teachers. And either way it was hard _not_ to pay attention considering what happened.

"We have had two changes in staffing this year. We are very pleased to welcome back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who will be taking Care of Magical Creatures lessons; we are also delighted to introduce Professor Umbridge, our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," Dumbledore announced.

Riku frowned. At least half of the school was not clapping and even then, most were rather unenthusiastic. Slytherin had barely clapped at all, with only Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle, and some of the first years clapping. Hermione herself looked rather panicked, considering Dumbledore had not announced if Hagrid was returning. But Riku was rather curious about the Slytherins' reactions, and kept an eye on them while he began to tune out Dumbledore's speech again.

"Hem, hem."

That wasn't Dumbledore. And Roxas' eyes were rather angry despite looking uninterested now that he looked carefully. In fact, majority of Slytherin looked rather upset. Jerking his head up, Riku blinked when he saw Professor Umbridge stand and Professor Dumbledore sit. Hermione herself looked on in disbelief.

"Thank you, Headmaster," Professor Umbridge simpered, "for those kind words of welcome."

Riku, and a few others visibly winced at the high-pitched, girly voice. If her attitude and looks didn't already make anyone hate her, her voice would definitely make them loath her.

"Well, it is lovely to be back at Hogwarts, I must say! And to see such happy little faces looking up at me!"

Riku looked at the rest of the Houses, having already gauged Slytherin's response to the new teacher. None of the faces he could see looked happy. On the contrary, they all looked rather taken-aback at being addressed as though they were five years old. The Ravenclaws in particular looked rather insulted considering her tone of voice could easily be mistaken as considering them idiots that they had to be treated as children. Riku could easily see Namine trying hard not to bolt from her seat in an attempt to get away from the girly voice and all the pink.

"I am very much looking forward to getting to know you all and I'm sure we'll be very good friends!"

"Fat chance," Riku muttered. This brought out several muffled laughs from those seated around him.

But as the speech continued, it became blindingly obvious to Riku that the Ministry was attempting to interfere with Hogwarts. And at the end of the speech, Hermione, who had also been listening, confirmed it when he asked with a grim nod. Of course before he could begin discussing with her anything, Hermione had to lead the first years to their dorm, thus leaving him to head back to the dorms first.

* * *

><p>Not getting the password first was a mistake. Good thing Neville remembered it for once and had been close behind him.<p>

But Riku had not expected most of the Gryffindors outside of the prefects, first years and Ginny (which was odd) to be gathered in the Common Room gesturing for him to sit with them. Sighing, Riku decided to indulge them and asked once he sat down, "So what's this about?"

Awkward glances were exchanged, and in the end Angelina voiced what they were all thinking, "Look Harry, most of us were watching you and Malfoy earlier-"

"And some of us heard you talking about a truce between the two of you," Alicia continued.

"And?" Riku looked at them, gesturing them to continue. Seamus then took over the conversation.

"Look Harry, some of us are still sceptical about what happened last year, especially with the Prophet calling you and Dumbledore liars."

Riku scowled and stood up, "If that's what this is about, I'm leaving."

"NO WAIT!" Dean shouted, while he cuffed Seamus over the head for mentioning the topic. Riku immediately sat back down, causing all of them to blink. Dean just sighed and continued, "It isn't about that. It's just that with the current situation, where no one knows who is right and wrong, we want to know what possessed you to make a truce with Malfoy of all people."

"Um, guys?" Neville raised his hand, prompting the room to turn to him. Nervous with all the attention on him, Neville quickly spoke up, "Malfoy was the one to offer the truce, not Harry."

Immediately, Riku braced himself for the resounding shouts of disbelief that flooded the room, startling the first years that just entered.

"Are you crazy Harry?!""And you accepted?!""What the hell, man!""Malfoy actually offered?!"

"QUIET!"

The sudden shout that over powered their own startled the gathered Gryffindors. Nervously they all turned to look at the rather scared first years, Ron backing away to the rooms, and a rather incensed Hermione.

"What. Is. Going. On. Here," Hermione growled.

Hoping to calm her down, the Weasley Twins quickly replied, "Hermione, don't be mad –"

"We were just asking Harry here – "

"About his little truce with Malfoy."

"We didn't know that Malfoy initiated the truce,"

"That's why we were shouting."

"We were just surprised!"

Hermione blinked, before shaking her head, "That's what all the noise was about? Give me a moment and I'll join you."

Not daring to disobey her, the gathered group, Riku included, sat in their circle tensely as they waited. Soon, Hermione returned and sat next to Riku and Neville and said, "I support the truce."

Silence filled the room. None of them had been expecting it, even Riku had been expecting some protesting from Hermione regarding the truce since she didn't seem to bring up the topic on the carriage to school. Parvati was the one to question her reasoning, "Hermione, why do you even support it? I thought you disliked Malfoy!"

"I admit I was somewhat sceptical about it at first," Hermione frowned. "But it's what Nearly Headless Nick said that convinced me to accept the truce as it is."

Colin was the first to voice out his confusion, "What do you mean Hermione?"

Sighing, Hermione explained, "You all heard the Hat right?" Cue nods of confirmation. "I asked Nick about it, and he said that the Hat _always_ gave a warning like this in periods of great danger. _Always_. Normally I wouldn't believe it, but if it had given warnings such as this before, then a pattern is there."

Most of the younger years exchanged confused looks, but some, like the twins and Neville, nodded in agreement. Hermione then continued, "Then wouldn't it be best to follow the instructions it gave us? Even if you don't believe that what happened last year was true, at least believe that the Hat's previous warnings had some merit, or else Hogwarts wouldn't be standing today!"

Riku had to give it to Hermione. At least three quarters of the room understood her explanation regarding why it would be best to approve of the truce. Only some of the younger years seemed rather indecisive, and so did Seamus.

Deciding it would be best to conclude their discussion, Riku spoke up, "Look, this truce with Malfoy doesn't mean I'm expecting all of you to become all buddy-buddy with the Slytherins alright? What Hermione is asking of you right now is to understand and keep in mind that there is a possibility we can make a truce with Slytherin," Understanding nods filled the room. He then gave an amused smile, "In the mean time, let's try to keep hostilities regarding House rivalries to just Quidditch. I think that's one thing all the Houses will have a hard time putting aside their differences for."

With that statement, the rest of the Gryffindors burst out into laughter, before dispersing back to their rooms, shouts of 'goodnight' filling the room as the formerly tense atmosphere lifted. Standing up, Riku made his way to the boy's dorms, waving to Hermione as he called out, "Thanks Hermione, I don't think this would have been settled quickly if you didn't jump in."

The bushy haired girl just stared at the green eyed teen's back, before shaking her head, muttering about how Harry normally didn't like someone else taking on his problems, and heading up the stairs to the girl's dorms.

* * *

><p>In the Slytherin dorms, Roxas was currently dealing with the same issue as Riku. Having to convince the fifth year Slytherins that the truce was beneficial to them. Out of the group, only Parkinson was vehemently arguing that the truce was a crazy idea. But she kept asking about their former marriage contract as well, and when she noticed the rest of the Slytherins ignoring her in favour of discussing about the truce, she stormed off with Crabbe, Goyle and Millicent Bulstrode following after her.<p>

"So what's this about anyway, Malfoy?" Daphne Greengrass asked. "Surely you know your father will kill you for initiating the truce with Potter."

"That man can go die for all I care. He's a disgrace to his own name and he's only proving that our family name is true," Roxas growled, causing the Slytherins to stare at him in disbelief. Malfoy calling his own father a disgrace?

The blond sighed, "Look, I'm probably going to be cutting ties with him soon, so it really doesn't matter what his opinion is about what I do with my life. So what if I decide to call a truce between Potter and me? He doesn't have any say in it! And it's not like I'm going to support the Light either because of this truce."

"And what exactly is the terms of the truce between the two of you?" Blaise asked.

"I avoid harming or insulting anyone Potter interacts with on a daily basis, particularly Longbottom and Granger. In exchange he won't be as prejudiced to us Slytherins. But I'm sure we will tend to get into enough arguments to hide this fact from the rest of the school. This way I can maintain a neutral standing with the war even with the truce," Roxas explained.

The explanation had most of the Slytherins looking at him with varying expressions. Daphne and Blaise both had slightly approving looks on their faces, considering both were from families that were of neutral standing in the previous war. Thus, they understood that the truce was his way of saying that he wasn't just going to side with either side of the current war they knew was brewing. Tracy Davis herself felt a twinge of familiarity at the way Draco was rebelling against his father, her eyes flashing blue before fading back to brown as she kept her face expressionless.

However, Theodore Nott, who for once decided to join in on their discussion, looked rather nervous and decided to speak up, "But your father already promised to have you join the Death Eaters, hasn't he? At least that was what my father told me."

The snarl Roxas gave had the group recoiling in shock, especially since they knew that Draco Malfoy usually had a good hold on his emotions. "Do not remind me!"

Taking a deep breath, Roxas calmed himself before asking the group, "I need to ask if you, as the few allies I have in Slytherin (because Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle don't count), will decide to break it off with me because of this truce and my decision to not rely on my father anymore."

Turning to look at each other, Daphne decided to speak, "Allies, don't you mean friends?"

"Eh?" Roxas blinked in shock.

"Look Malfoy, just because you've been arrogant in the past, doesn't mean we can't see the changes. The old Malfoy wouldn't have asked for our support or even explain his decisions!" Daphne exclaimed.

Theodore then continued, "And just because you obviously don't support the Dark Lord, doesn't mean that we will cut ties with you that easily."

Seeing the rest of the group nod in agreement, Roxas could only give a smile, before it turned into a sneaky grin as his fellow Slytherins began making plans to ensure that word of the truce never got out to their parents.

Unnoticed, Tracy looked at him, frowning in confusion, as unfamiliar images of his current self flashed into her mind, of him dressed in a black trench coat.

* * *

><p>Later that night, a snow white owl flew into the Ministry of Magic Headquarters, circling about in the air, prompting several stares from late shift ministry workers who recognised the owl. However, most didn't notice it drop a scroll onto the desk of one Percy Weasley before flying off. A scroll that unrolled once it hit the desk, revealing its contents to surprised red head.<p>

_Dancing Flames, _

_Have met up with Wave. Destiny is also awake, but I won't tell you who he is yet, since it's a surprise. Others confirmed awake are Wolf as Cloud and Dog as Zack. Also, Hat made mention to World's Heart during sorting. Verses are in the next page. But it seems like we're going to have to find Sky since the Hat confirmed that he is around somewhere. Btw, is there any other reason your bosses got involved with the schooling other than sabotaging our education? _

_Way to Dawn_

_P.S. Any hope for you to take time off during the next Hogsmeade Weekend? If so, meet me in the Three Broomsticks._

And elsewhere, a scroll containing similar contents bounced off Sirius' head as the snowy owl gave an irritated hoot and flew off after getting her payback from being chased round in circles by the man's Animagus form.

* * *

><p><strong>It's been exactly three months since I updated. And I really am sorry for taking so long for this chapter. I've been caught up with school for the first two months, then, the last month was due to unforeseen events that took up most of my time. I was actually almost done with the chapter two weeks ago, but I had problems wrapping up Roxas' end of the chapter. Anyways, please forgive me for the delay.<strong>

**Now, enough with that. Small chapter summary time!**

**1) Sorting Hat's Song has changed. Small changes, and it may sound a little strange, but to those of you who have been following this fic since I began it earlier this year (Wow. Almost a year already?) it's a hint of what's about to come.  
><strong>**2) Riku is still kinda miffed over the whole Daily Prophet calling him a liar, so Harry's personality made him react badly to Seamus, as usual. However, with the truce, Hermione giving support via the Sorting Hat's warnings, and some elaboration regarding said warning and what to do, Gryffindor will have to grin and bear with the truce between Harry and Draco.  
><strong>**3) Roxas' side of things was much harder to write, since I got several things wrong during the planning of the chapter that was made known in that part, and I had no idea how to write the Snakes. So forgive me if the snakes are OOC.  
><strong>**4) Next reincarnation hinted. But who will it be this time? (Their part will take longer due to certain things.)  
><strong>**5) Last is informing Axel and Zack about what's going on at Hogwarts. Lightly coded. Even though I actually doubt Umbridge had a plan to screen letters right on the very first day.**

**I hoped you enjoyed the rather long chapter! The next update hopefully will be much faster than this.**

**Read And Review! **

**Kiri Kaitou Clover**


	15. Classes Begin

**Wow, I'm late, aren't I. Oh well.**

**Merry Belated Xmas and A Happy New Year! We've reached over 100 reviews! FrostingFlames, thanks for being the 100****th**** reviewer! And He-who-runs-into-walls, thanks for being the 150****th**** to favourite this fanfic! Also, according to FFn, this is the 15****th**** posted chapter. Suiting for the Year 2015 no?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own the series that were used for inspiration for this fic.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 10: Classes Begin<strong>_

_Great Hall, Breakfast_

Harry was glaring.

Harry was glaring in a way that if someone looked into his eyes, they could easily see dark fire threatening to burn them.

Hermione, for once, wasn't even sure why he had been so incensed.

It couldn't have been Ron and Ginny, and she knew that ever since his appearance changed, the youngest of the Weasley brood tended to set him off. But both had taken to avoid being too near to Harry ever since Harry tossed a fireball at Ginny after the fifth time she complained about his changed appearance.

It couldn't have been the mention of the Daily Prophet's lies about him. Outside of a rather clipped tone whenever he was asked about it, Hermione knew it didn't really bother him that much. Four years of being ostracised due to rumours helped.

Then, she looked at what he had been glaring at. His timetable. Well, considering the classes that were listed were all that he either found boring, had a teacher who was sure to hate him, or had a teacher who constantly predicted his death, Hermione couldn't really blame him for being irritated. Though, she could have sworn she heard him muttering about hoping to get some of Fred and George's new products just to get out of a class. Which one, she didn't know.

She took to herself to observe the silver haired teen, just for that day.

* * *

><p><em>History of Magic<em>

While Hermione listened to Binns drone on about the Goblin wars, she couldn't help but glance at Harry in surprise, as instead of falling asleep like everyone else had, he had opted to open his History of Magic text and take notes from the book itself. Despite not liking the fact that he wasn't listening to Binns himself, Hermione smiled seeing him make an effort to study for once.

Another thing she didn't expect was Harry completely ignoring Cho Chang as she approached him. He walked passed her like she wasn't even there. Hermione just wondered when Harry's crush on the girl faded.

* * *

><p><em>Potions<em>

Potions had gone almost exactly as she had expected.

Almost being the key word here.

Professor Snape had criticized the Gryffindors and picked on Harry and Neville. That was normal. But what wasn't normal was Harry not visibly reacting to the insult, and most of the Slytherins not snickering at Harry's misfortune of being picked on by their Head of House like they normally did.

What was even stranger was Harry actually making some head way in his potion, getting a dull silver mist, which was close enough to what Professor Snape required for the potion, leaving little room for criticism from the Potion's Professor for once. Hermione did notice several fallen and damaged potion ingredients on the floor circling Harry's cauldron, and several glares one Pansy Parkinson gave to said circle of ingredients. So it was possible that most of the time Harry's practical work had been ruined was due to sabotage by the Slytherins. Which led to her wondering:

_What had Harry done to prevent this from happening this round?_

Shaking her head, she quickly bottled her finished potion and handed it in. As she packed her equipment away, Hermione blinked as she spotted an ingredient flying towards Harry's cauldron. Just when she stepped forward to stop it, Hermione felt the temperature suddenly increase and watched as said ingredient was eaten by quickly vanishing ball of flame. Glancing in the direction where the flame appeared from, she tried her best to hide her surprise as she saw Malfoy's hand lower while making it seem like he was packing up. She then turned back to see the ashes of the burnt ingredient bouncing off a shimmering barrier of hexagons that disappeared as soon as it appeared.

By the time she looked to see if Harry had noticed, he had already bottled up his potion and handed it in to the Potions Master for checking. All Hermione could do was take note of the odd barrier and Malfoy's ability to use a wandless fire spell similar to what Harry did when he revealed his changed appearance.

* * *

><p><em>Great Hall, Lunch<em>

Harry was glaring again. This time at a book. While Hermione would normally be offended that he was even glaring at it, she understood his reasons, considering she caught him reading said book during the earlier break.

Defensive Magical Theory. _**Theory.**_

She had asked about the reliability of the book at Flourish and Blotts when she first entered the Wizarding World. All the manager said was to not even bother with the book unless she wanted to avoid casting spells for the rest of her life. And when she had asked Luna about the book on the carriage the day before as Harry and Malfoy argued, all Luna said with a smile was, "I used the book to feed the flames of my fireplace. It's worthless for students above first year."

Hermione read the book, and she was honestly fine with reading theory. Her only issue was the largely pacifist/cowardly manner the book detailed defensive magic. All she could hope for was that the teacher would demonstrate the spells and manoeuvres detailed, and allow them practice.

Her hopes were dashed when she found out that the Ministry had interfered. She could only guess what the pink wearing woman was going to teach them.

* * *

><p><em>Defence Against Dark Arts <em>

Hermione blinked when she noticed Harry missing from the room. Shaking her head and wondering if he was running late, she made her way over to her seat. She then noticed another empty chair, this one within Slytherin. She saw Parkinson whining, and easily deduced that Malfoy was either running late, or skipping the class entirely.

Professor Umbridge had already been seated at the teacher's desk, wearing the fluffy pink cardigan of the night before and the black velvet bow on top of her head. When no one else entered the room for a minute, the woman frowned as she stared at the empty seats, but then gave a fake smile as she greeted the class.

"Well, good afternoon!"

A few people mumbled 'good afternoon' in reply, but Hermione could hear someone muttering, "Good afternoon my ass. There's nothing good about it today."

Turning her head to see who had muttered that out, Hermione looked in surprise as she saw smouldering blue eyes set in the face of one Tracy Davis, blink and turn back to slightly bewildered brown. Deciding it was probably not important Hermione turned back just in time for Professor Umbridge to ask them to repeat their greeting like nursery school children. Everyone had a frown as they complied.

"There, now," said Professor Umbridge in a sickeningly sweet voice. "That wasn't too difficult, was it? Wands away and quills out, please."

Gloomy looks were exchanged around the classroom; the order 'wands away' had never led to an interesting lesson for most of them. Even Hermione herself found DADA dull without any practical work. Reluctantly taking out her quill and paper, Hermione knew that complying for now was probably for the best.

Taking out her own wand, Professor Umbridge tapped the blackboard sharply with it, words appearing at once.

**Defence Against the Dark Arts**

**A Return to Basic Principles**

"Well now, your teaching in this subject has been rather disrupted and fragmented, hasn't it?" stated Professor Umbridge, turning to face the class with her hands clasped neatly in front of her. "The constant changing of teachers, many of whom do not seem to have followed any Ministry-approved curriculum, has unfortunately resulted in your being far below the standard we would expect to see in your OWL year."

"You will be pleased to know, however, that these problems are now to be rectified. We will be following a carefully structured, theory-centred, Ministry-approved course of defensive magic this year. Copy down the following, please."

She tapped the blackboard again; the first message vanished and was replaced by the '**Course Aims**'.

**Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic.**

**Learning to recognise situations in which defensive magic can legally be used**

**Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use.**

For a couple of minutes the room was full of the sound of scratching quills on parchment. But as people were writing, all Hermione could think off was simply, '_Where is the practical aspect of the course work? All I see is theory! What sort of Defence Against Dark Arts professor intends to avoid practical work in class?!_'

When everyone had copied down 'Professor' Umbridge's three course aims she asked, "Has everybody got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

There was a dull murmur of assent throughout the class.

"I think we'll try that again," frowned 'Professor' Umbridge. "When I ask you a question, I should like you to reply, "Yes, Professor Umbridge", or "No, Professor Umbridge". So, has everyone got a copy of Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard?"

"Yes, Professor Umbridge," rang through the room. Hermione could easily picture the annoyed looks on their faces. She probably had the same look as well.

"Good," said 'Professor' Umbridge. "I should like you to turn to page five and read "Chapter One, Basics for Beginners". There will be no need to talk."

As soon as she said that, Hermione raised her hand. She didn't care that she was attracting attention. All she wanted was for some of her questions to be answered.

The first to notice was Neville. He had immediately given a panicked gesture for her to just start reading, but Hermione stubbornly refused to let her question go unanswered by the 'professor' up in front.

Soon, the Slytherins had begun to notice her raised hand. Parkinson had snickered, probably at how futile such gestures was at getting the 'professor's attention. However, the other Slytherins took notice of her unopened textbook and immediately paid closer attention to her. Soon enough the rest of the class took notice and 'Professor' Umbridge seemed to decide that she could ignore the situation no longer.

"Did you want to ask something about the chapter, dear?" she asked Hermione, as though she had only just noticed her.

"Not about the chapter, no," said Hermione.

"Well, we're reading just now," smiled 'Professor' Umbridge, showing her small pointed teeth. "If you have other queries we can deal with them at the end of class."

"I've got a query about your course aims," Hermione stated with a slight frown at the 'professor's attempt at dismissing her question. But said question had caught her attention.

'Professor' Umbridge raised her eyebrows. "And your name is?"

"Hermione Granger," said Hermione with a slight twitch. The woman could have easily checked their seating arrangements for her name.

"Well, Miss Granger, I think the course aims are perfectly clear if you read them through carefully" said 'Professor' Umbridge in a voice of determined sweetness.

"Well, I don't," said Hermione bluntly, rather annoyed at the woman's attempt at getting her to just drop the subject. Time for her to bring up the topic that she knew would lead to a heated discussion. "There's nothing written up there about using defensive spells."

That caused a large majority of the class to look over the course aims and realize her point. Quiet murmurs broke out, but the 'professor' ignored it.

"Using defensive spells?" 'Professor' Umbridge repeated with a little laugh. "Why, I can't imagine any situation arising in my classroom that would require you to use a defensive spell, Miss Granger. You surely aren't expecting to be attacked during class?"

"We're not going to use magic?" Ronald exclaimed loudly.

"Students raise their hands when they wish to speak in my class, Mr - ?"

"Weasley," said Ronald, thrusting his hand into the air.

'Professor' Umbridge, smiling still more widely, turned her back on him. Hermione immediately raised her hand once more. 'Professor' Umbridge's eyes narrowed as she addressed Hermione.

"Yes, Miss Granger? You wanted to ask something else?"

"Yes," said Hermione. "Surely the whole point of Defence Against the Dark Arts is to practice defensive spells?"

"Are you a Ministry-trained educational expert, Miss Granger?" asked 'Professor' Umbridge, in her falsely sweet voice.

"No, but – " Hermione started, but she was stopped before she could continue.

"Well then, I'm afraid you are not qualified to decide what the "whole point" of any class is. Wizards much older and cleverer than you have devised our new programme of study. You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way – "

"So you are telling me that there is no chance of being attacked by anyone or anything in this school? This classroom?" Hermione growled out.

"Miss Granger, do not interrupt me," 'Professor' Umbridge promptly attempted to continue, but found several other people had their hands up, too.

"And your name is?" Professor Umbridge said to Dean.

"Dean Thomas."

"Well, Mr Thomas?"

"Well, it's like Hermione said, isn't it?" said Dean. "If we're going to be attacked, it won't be risk free."

"I repeat," said Professor Umbridge, smiling in a very irritating fashion at Dean, "Do you expect to be attacked during my classes?"

"No, but – "

'Professor' Umbridge talked over him. "I do not wish to criticise the way things have been run in this school," she said, an unconvincing smile stretching her wide mouth, "but you have been exposed to some very irresponsible wizards in this class, very irresponsible indeed - not to mention," she gave a nasty little laugh, "extremely dangerous half-breeds."

At the last statement, Hermione couldn't take it anymore. To hell with laying low and gathering information. The Toad had overstepped her boundaries by insulting a teacher that she truly respected with all her heart. As soon as she made one more oversight, Hermione was leaving her classroom and never returning.

"If you mean Professor Lupin," piped up Dean angrily, "he was the best we ever – "

"Hand, Mr Thomas! As I was saying - you have been introduced to spells that have been complex, inappropriate to your age group and potentially lethal. You have been frightened into believing that you are likely to meet Dark attacks every other day – "

"No we haven't!" Hermione snarled, loosing her composure "We just – "

"Your hand is not up, Miss Granger!"

'_Hand not up my ass! You just want to avoid my questions!_' Hermione fumed as she put up her hand. The Toad turned away from her.

"It is my understanding that my predecessor not only performed illegal curses in front of you, he actually performed them on you."

"Well, he turned out to be a maniac, didn't he?" said Dean hotly. "Mind you, we still learned loads."

'_At least Dean's giving some good points,_' Hermione cheered mentally while she noticed the Toad attempting to ignore the evidence by stating that his hand wasn't up

The Toad continued, "Now, it is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be more than sufficient to get you through your examination, which, after all, is what school is all about. And your name is?" she added, staring at Parvati, whose hand had just shot up.

"Parvati Patil, and isn't there a practical bit in our Defence Against the Dark Arts OWL? Aren't we supposed to show that we can actually do the counter-curses and things?"

'_Nice one Parvati! Let's see her worm her way out of this one!_' Hermione smiled at the Gryffindor Patil twin's quick thinking.

"As long as you have studied the theory hard enough, there is no reason why you should not be able to perform the spells under carefully controlled examination conditions," said the Toad dismissively.

"Without ever practising them beforehand?" said Parvati incredulously. "Are you telling us that the first time we'll get to do the spells will be during our exam?"

"I repeat, as long as you have studied the theory hard enough using them for the first time should be simple."

"'Theory has no place on the battlefield'."

The soft voice that echoed through the room had everyone staring at the speaker. Daphne Greengrass just stared at her best friend in shock as she spoke up. "Tracy?! What the hell are you doing? Sit down now and stop acting like a bloody Gryffindor!" The Slytherin girl exclaimed.

The Toad however had a large frown on her face. "Excuse me young lady, but can you please repeat what you just said?"

"I said, 'Theory has no place on the battlefield. What good is theory in the real world without practicing it in and out of battlefield conditions?'" Tracy explained, her eyes glowing blue once more as Hermione paid attention. "Someone I knew once told me this. And he was a spell researcher first and foremost. If a researcher says this, who am I to question the reliability of his statement?"

"This is school, Ms Davis, not the real world," the Toad said softly.

"So we're not supposed to be prepared for what's waiting for us out there?" Hermione hissed.

"There is nothing waiting out there, Ms Granger."

"Oh, really?" she growled. It was normally very hard for anyone to rile her up like this, but the Toad just kept pushing her buttons today.

"Who do you imagine wants to attack children like yourselves?" enquired the Toad in a horribly honeyed voice, daring her to mention Voldemort. Hermione knew she shouldn't mention it, but with how things were going, she was slowly running out of options. Tracy took the choice out of her hands, though Daphne kept trying to stop the short haired girl from speaking out further.

"I can list several. They may be in hiding, but the Death Eaters are still around. Last year's appearance at the Quidditch World Cup was proof enough." Several nods followed Tracy's statement. "Then there are dangerous magical creatures. Are you trying to deny their existence in our world?"

Hermione held her breath when the Toad became silent at Tracy's reasoning. The Slytherin girl's eyes had finally returned to its original brown, though the defiant look was still there. Then the Toad said, in her softest, most sweetly girlish voice, "Come here, Ms Davis."

The class saw the girl make her way up to the front. But when the Toad took out a roll of parchment and scribbled a note on it, telling Tracy to take it to Professor Snape, Hermione snapped.

"So you are sending her to her Head of House just because she spoke her own mind about our so called 'course aims'?" Grabbing her books and stuffing it into her bag, Hermione stormed her way to the front, grabbed a piece of the pink parchment and spelled a copy of what was written on Tracy's parchment on to it before making her way to the door, grabbing Tracy's hand at the same time before snarling at the Toad, "All you've done is avoid the problem at hand. If you won't try to be a proper teacher, then we will teach ourselves. I will not set one foot into this classroom for the rest of this year!"

Slamming the door to the classroom, Hermione dragged a rather dazed and slightly struggling Tracy Davis in the direction of the library.

"Ouch! Granger, you're gripping too hard! Quit dragging me around!" Tracy winced in pain.

Snapping out of her enraged haze, Hermione's eyes widened and she apologised as she let go of Tracy's wrist, "I'm so sorry!"

Rubbing her wrists, Tracy just sighed, before gesturing in the direction of the library, "I guess you're probably heading straight to the library?"

Blushing at how obvious she was, Hermione just gave an embarrassed nod. Sighing once again, the short haired Slytherin continued walking, "Come on. Potter and Malfoy should be there right now, considering their rather obvious absence from class."

Blinking in surprise, the bushy haired witch followed the Slytherin girl to the library, and true to her words, both Harry and Malfoy were seated at one of the tables, their silver and blond hairs easily standing out. Several books that Hermione recognised as Defence Against Dark Arts books recommended for fifth years from their previous years also covered the table. The two boys themselves were in a hushed discussion, gesturing to the opened books on the table.

Tracy then stepped forward and cleared her throat, causing both boys to jump in surprise. Malfoy had a scowl when he saw Hermione though, "Davis, why is Granger here with you?"

Tracy herself scowled at him, causing the blond to back off in surprise, "We both got kicked out of DADA, well, at least I did. Granger walked herself out. That _toad_ _woman _asked me to tell the both of you that you were serving detention for the entire week. Malfoy and I with Professor Snape, and Potter with _her._ Granger, I have no idea what the hell is your punishment."

Harry just stared, his new blueish green eyes wide with surprise, "You actually walked out of a class Hermione?" He then shook his head, "Nevermind. I forgot you did the same for Divination."

Hermione just huffed, pushed aside some off the books and took out her parchment and quill, before siting herself next to Harry. Opposite her, Tracy did the same, and sat down next to Malfoy. Hermione then asked as she took one of the books off the table, "Mind if we join you here next time there is DADA? I know studying here would be somewhat more productive than in class with that _toad_."

Harry snorted in quiet laughter, "You've already invited yourselves into this study group, so why not?" Malfoy just shook his head and went back to looking through the Fifth Year text that had been recommended during their own Third Year.

And thus the entire last period of the day was spent in the library for the four of them. While it was obvious the good mood wasn't going to last thanks to Harry's detention and Hermione's own still unknown punishment for walking out of class, Hermione somehow found that day rather productive.

But she honestly had to wonder…

_Why did Tracy Davis' eyes keep turning blue in highly emotional situations, and what were the wandless magics Harry and Malfoy both seem to be able to use?_

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><p><strong>Finally finished with this LONG chapter! As you can see, majority of the chapter was from Hermione's POV, and portions of the debate with the Toad was taken straight from the book, excluding Harry and including the Slytherins in the classroom. I might as well list the key points and explain things.<strong>

**Hermione's POV – 'Mione needs love! Thus, this is a heavily Hermione centred chapter, focusing on her observations and her own involvement in the little debate. Though, she no longer worships authority figures and hence is a little more aggressive in her verbal fight against the Toad.**

**Schedule – Used the HP lexicon for this since I needed to know the breaks and periods. Mixed them up a little in my outline notes. **

**Riku taking notes – Well… this is Riku we're talking about. The most mature of the Destiny Island Trio. I'm not surprised if he was the top of all his classes prior to his literal descent into darkness.**

**Potions class – Sabotage is the most possible reason as to why Harry seems to fail at potions despite being a good cook as implied. Thus, as Riku, he finds a way to counter it. Draco is more than able to help out discretely, but his actions do catch Hermione's eye.**

**Reading ahead – Again, Riku is the mature one of the Destiny Island Trio, so this should be expected.**

**Hermione criticizes book – 'Mione is a bookworm, but even SHE knows good books from bad.**

**DADA class debate – Hermione and Tracy both take over Harry in provoking the Toad. Hermione is also a WHOLE lot more aggressive.**

**Tracy Davis – Most of you already know she's Xion. But as we don't really know Tracy's appearance, let's give her black hair, brown eyes, and Xion's facial structure.**

**Blue Eyes – Just a sign that she's waking up soon.**

"**Theory has no place on the battlefield…" – I'd like to think that Xion spent a lot of time with the other Org XIII members, particularly the Castle Oblivion Team's Zexion. He's a researcher, but also a strategist from what I can tell from the old CoM cutscenes, particularly in his fight with Riku. Zexion won't appear though (If he does, I'll end up adding Demyx just to complete the two)**

**Library – They'll be there… for now. **

**As usual, review please! Also, HAPPY 2015! (Next chapter will take a while…)**

**Kiri Kaitou Clover**


	16. Anniversary Omake - Be My Valentine?

_**Anniversary Plus Valentine's Day Chapter, CtDRitL Reaches its First Year! **_

**Kiri: Hey everyone! Welcome to the Consume the Darkness, Return it to Light Anniversary Chapter! Interestingly enough, I posted this fic on Valentine's Day as well, so it's a Valentine's Day Chapter as well. To all you couples out there, have fun! To the singles, like I am, we'll just have to bear another year giving chocolates to friends and not the significant other we have yet to meet. **

**Anyway, note that this Omake chapter will also allude to future chapters as well as the past Valentine's Days of most of the KH cast. Also, I hope it would be fluffy, slightly silly and enjoyable enough for you all. Happy Valentine's Day!**

**By the way… FunahoMisaki! Thanks for becoming the 200****th**** follower of this fic!**

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><p><span><strong>Be My Valentine?<strong>

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><p><em><strong>Valentine's Day 1976<strong>_

"SIRIUS!" Remus shouted as he slammed the entrance to the common room closed. Not looking up from unwrapping another pink box of chocolates, Sirius simply hummed out his reply.

"Hmm? What's up Moony?"

Twitching at Sirius' nonchalant reply, Remus went up to him and dumped the armful of chocolate onto the dog animagus' head, eliciting a pained yelp as Remus growled, "Get. Your. Fangirls. To stop making me their delivery boy!"

"What for? It's not like they're hurting anyone…" Sirius sighed as he rubbed his head and sorted through the new batch of chocolates, the sense of smell gained from his animagus form easily picking out the ones that contained love potions.

The werewolf just crashed himself on one of the couches, curling up in a small ball as he muttered out his complaints, "Your fangirl horde keeps on passing me valentine gifts and chocolates for you. And they keep chasing me down when I try to avoid them! Please… make them stop… It's been going on for the past two years and I already have nightmares about it…"

Nightmares made worse thanks to Remus' past memories. Even if he didn't say it out loud, Remus felt like he was a Cadet again, running away from Zack's fangirl horde as they kept pestering him to give the First-Class SOLDIER their chocolates.

Sirius himself was beginning to have a sense of déjà vu as he watched Remus curl up like Cloud did the last time the blond Cadet got hounded into passing him his fangirls' chocolates and gifts. Taking pity on the wolf, Sirius gave in to Remus' request, "Fine, Remus. I'll just ask them to pass their gifts directly to me DURING our breaks and not in between classes. How about that?"

He sweatdropped as the wolf looked at him with grateful green eyes.

"Thanks Padfoot… You're a life saver!"

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><p><em><strong>Valentine's Day 1993<strong>_

Honestly, Axel had about had it with that hack of a Defence Professor. Of all the things he had to do, he had dwarves send Valentine messages dressed up as cupids. Demented cupids. And he just had to decorate the whole Great Hall in pink. Namine was probably holed up in her room, trying to avoid having a complete breakdown thanks to her phobia of the colour pink. Axel pitied her. Badly. Anyone who dealt with Marluxia had a rather bad fear or hate for the colour. This incident just made Axel hate it more.

Axel was not expecting any Valentine messages that day, since Percy wasn't exactly popular in Gryffindor. Hence he was spared from the hell that was singing dwarves. But what he didn't expect was for him to be pulled aside by his fellow prefect and friend, Penelope Clearwater.

Quickly looking around and sighing once she made sure no one else was around, the blond shyly began to speak.

"Umm… Percy?"

"Yes Penelope?" Axel asked, wondering why she had pulled him aside. And he was shocked when she thrust forward a heart shaped box, eyes closed and face completely red.

"PLEASE BE MY VALENTINE FOR TODAY!"

Axel was stunned. In all honesty, he had not expected Penelope to like him in a romantic manner, considering he was just a fellow prefect and one of the few Gryffindors who could keep up with a Ravenclaw's discussion. Axel sighed as he rubbed his head in frustration, prompting the girl to open her eyes and see his expression.

"I already have someone else I love, Penelope. I don't want to be unfaithful," informed Axel as he looked at the girl directly in the eye.

Dejected at the outright rejection, and the fact that her crush already had a partner, Penelope sighed, "Oh…"

"However," Axel took the box of chocolates, surprising the blond, "I am willing to accept those chocolates, not as a Valentine partner, but as friends. So… are we still friends?"

Eyes wide and sparkling at the fact that her confession had not ruined their friendship, the blue eyed blond smiled and gave a nod, "Friends!"

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><p>At the end of the day though, when Axel returned to the Gryffindor dorms, he laid down on his bed mentally begging for Roxas to regain his memories faster and get him out of having to deal with any more confessions. One was enough!<p>

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><p><em><strong>Valentine's Day 1996<strong>_

Axel had not been expecting boxes of chocolates to be delivered to his table that Valentines' Day, much less by four different owls.

The first three were from Xion, Naminé, and Penelope Clearwater. Xion's had been a total surprise since Axel hadn't even known she was alive. As for Naminé, she always sent him a box. And even though the red head had rejected her years ago, Penelope still sent chocolates to him on Valentine's Day out of friendship. The fourth box, however, came with a letter, and was carried by a large eagle owl.

_Hey my Flame,_

_Hope you aren't too lonely in the office this Valentine's Day. I thought you would appreciate the gesture, so I made you some chocolate with your favourite flavours. Took me a while to get the taste right, but I hope you enjoy it! Happy Valentines' Day!_

_Love,  
>Destiny.<em>

One bite into the chocolate had Axel blinking and happily savouring the rest.

Chilli and Sea-Salt Chocolate? Strange, but considering he loved the spicy taste and random moments of saltiness in the chocolate, Axel had to declare it as a favourite, and spent the rest of the evening after work planning what gift to get for Roxas during White Day.

Of course, the rest of his co-workers ended up glaring at him for the rest of day thanks to him receiving four boxes of chocolates. But Axel paid them no mind.

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><p><em><strong>Valentine's Day 1997<strong>_

Riku was looking forward to Valentine's Day. The first one since Sora transferred into Hogwarts. Because of this, he wondered what Sora was going to give him that day. So when he woke up, Riku had been sorely disappointed to find out that Sora was nowhere to be found.

No one saw Sora. Not his year mates, nor his teachers. Roxas in particular had been rather jittery at the fact that Sora was nowhere to be found, though he did calm down a little after Axel abducted him for the afternoon and left Slytherin in a total panic.

By the end of the day Riku had received several Valentine chocolates from the female population, all of which he either dumped out of the window, or tossed into the flames. After all, none of them were from the person he wanted chocolate from the most.

So when he returned to his dorm, Riku was understandably surprised to see Sora sound asleep on his bed, clutching a star shaped box wrapped in a ribbon.

Quietly removing the box from the sleeping Sora's hold, Riku opened it and found several star shaped chocolates. Taking a bite of one of them, the taste of chocolate mixed with the tangy flavour of the papou fruit inside it, causing Riku to blink and stare at the sleeping brunette.

A smile slowly appeared on his face as Riku secretly fed the sleeping Sora the remaining half of the chocolate that Riku had taken a bite off. The brunette deserved a rest if he had spent almost the entire day making him the chocolate coated papou fruit. And Sora deserved to share a piece. If only to allow their paths to always intertwine and never separate again.

And with that, Valentine's Day that night passed, with the sounds of Riku and Sora's quiet breathing while curled up against each other.

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><p><strong>If you had fun reading this Omake, please leave a review on your way out! It will make me want to get the next chapter up faster! Also, guest reviewers Adoring Fan, Death update, and Mary Dermia, please head to my tumblr site for replies for your reviews (Particularly you, Death update, since I decided to reply most of your reviews at once.)! Same goes for future guest reviewers! Replies for you all will be on tumblr from now on. Here's the site:<strong>

**rainixdra dot tumblr dot com (Look under the page "Guest Review Responses") **

**For reviewers with FFn accounts, please turn on the PM function to allow me to get back to you if you have any questions. **

**Anyways, writing progress will now be visible to you on the same tumblr site under the "Fanfiction Progress" page. That way you can see exactly how much I'm done with so far, and links to my other fics! The site link is also on my bio, so you can access it from there as well.**

**With the anniversary chapter complete, I hope you've all enjoyed it! Once again, leave a review as usual, and please check the tumblr page for responses, guest reviewers!**

**Kiri Kaitou Clover**


	17. Lines

**Ahem. Really late chapter because of four things – Owari no Seraph (I have a new HP reincarnation fic crossed with this series), One Piece (Finally got to watching the anime after so many years), Dreaming Guidance (My new HPKH crossover), and tests and assignments. **

**I was actually done with this weeks ago, but I kept on writing until I realised today that the other part belonged to the next chapter. Whoops. It's a little shorter than my usual chapters though due to the topic. I'm glad that there are people still reading this fic though. Thanks you guys! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own the series that were used for inspiration for this fic.**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 11: Lines<strong>_

Riku sighed as he made his way down to the office of one Professor Umbridge. He had intended on skipping the detention, but what happened during dinner convinced him to attend at least _one_ session, if only to see what that woman had planned for him.

_~Flashback~_

_Dinner in the Great Hall was as it usually was. Loud, bustling with people chatting about their day, the clinking of plates as people tried out the different dishes._

_Though, the situation at the Gryffindor table wasn't normal, considering how one Dolores Umbridge had approached it and startled all of them._

"_Hem, hem. Miss Granger?" the woman simpered._

_Riku simply watched as his friend's eyes narrowed and grit her teeth as she replied, "Yes, _Professor_?"_

"_I've decided on your punishment for speaking out of turn in my class. You are to be stripped of all Prefect rights until the end of the week," Umbridge declared as she gave Hermione a nasty smile._

_Hermione didn't react visibly, but Riku knew that inside, the girl was hissing and spitting insults at the toad like woman. _

_Noting that Hermione didn't protest, she then turned on Riku. "And as for you Mister Potter. I've decided that your week long detention will begin _tonight_. Please remember to attend it."_

_Riku twitched at her tone of voice. It wasn't very obvious, but the woman's voice had a tone that definitely promised that his detention was going to hurt. At least that was what she thought. Sighing, Riku simply continued eating, but decided to attend the detention, if only to see what sort of punishment she had planned for him._

_~Flashback End~_

Sighing once again as he arrived at Umbridge's door, Riku steeled himself for what was to come. Knocking on the door, Riku cringed as she called, "Come in," in that disgustingly sugary voice. He entered cautiously, and it took all he had to not let his disgust show the minute he saw the state of the office.

Pink. Everywhere. All the lace around the room and kitten printed plates on one of the walls made it worse. Riku expected this of a little girl's room, not a full grown adult.

Then again, the woman was definitely obsessed with pink. Riku just hoped Naminé never landed in any of these detentions. The girl would probably breakdown the minute she entered the room.

Professor Umbridge then spoke, "Good evening, Mr Potter."

Riku barely flinched when he heard her voice. He had seen the woman when he first entered the room. He just didn't like to acknowledge her presence.

"Evening, Professor Umbridge," Riku said stiffly.

"Well, sit down," she said as she gestured to yet another lace covered table, which she had drawn up a straight-backed chair. A piece of blank parchment lay on the table, which had Riku mentally groaning the minute he saw it. 'Lines, just great.'

Seating himself on the chair, Umbridge then instructed, "Now, you are going to be doing some lines for me, Mr Potter. No, not with your quill," she added, as Riku bent down to open his bag. "You're going to be using a rather special one of mine. Here you are."

She handed him a long, thin black quill with an unusually sharp point. Riku's eyes narrowed warily as he took it, wondering why she specifically wanted him to use the quill she provided.

Ignoring Riku's hesitance as he took the quill, she then continued, "Now, I want you to write, 'I must not skip classes'."

"How many times?" Riku asked, his voice oozing with fake politeness. Not that the woman noticed.

"Oh, as long as it takes for the message to _sink in_," said Umbridge sweetly, which had Riku becoming more wary at the emphasis on the last two words. "Off you go."

The woman then made her way to her desk and began sorting through her paperwork. Riku then gave a heavy sigh and picked up the quill. Reaching over to dip the quill into an ink pot, Riku blinked when he felt a thump instead of the watery ink hit the quill. Realising what was missing, Riku then pointed it out, "You haven't given me any ink."

"Oh, you won't need ink," replied Professor Umbridge, a hint of laughter in her voice, not looking up from her work.

'A self inking quill then?' Riku blinked in surprise, lifting the tip of the quill to his nose and gave it a whiff. Riku immediately recoiled when instead of ink, all he got was the scent of blood. Now he was becoming a little more worried about using the quill. Then again, the ink could have been blood based.

Riku decided to write a single line to see what the quill did. The moment the tip of the quill touched the parchment, Riku had to recoil once again due to the sudden increase in scent of dark magic.

"Why aren't you writing?" Umbridge asked with a frown.

Shaking off his surprise, Riku began to write the first letter. And blinked in surprise as his own magic surged, automatically casting Reflect around his hand, causing the quill to snap in half.

Hearing the loud snap, Umbridge looked up from her work and stared bewildered at the broken quill in Riku's hand, "Wha – "

Riku shrugged in reply, "It snapped the minute I tried to write."

Eyes narrowing, the toad like woman took another quill from her drawer and passed it to him. She decided to see if he had broken the quill on purpose, this time watching as he fiddled with the quill before positioning it over the parchment

However, the minute Riku tried to write something, it snapped once again, causing her to give him yet another one, not believing it was possible.

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><p>Eight more quills were snapped, a total of ten within the twenty minutes of Riku being in detention. In the end Umbridge gave up and allowed him to take out his own quill and ink pot, which left Riku hiding a satisfied smirk as she tried to figure out what had caused the quills to snap in the first place.<p>

His eyes narrowed though, when he saw her try the quill herself, and yelped, as if in pain. Riku could easily see the red letters on the top of her parchment, and hissed quietly when he smelled the coppery scent of blood, even if it was just a small amount. Noticing Umbridge clutching her hand, Riku the realised what the quill was.

It was a quill that used the users' own blood as ink. Riku knew that magic that had to do with blood had dire consequences, and he really didn't want to know what would happen if he had written lines and lines using that quill, without his old magic to protect him.

Soon, the detention came to an end, Umbridge's face looked sour as she took the parchment from his hands, and once Riku had gotten far, _far_ away from that horrifying monstrosity of an office, he broke out into quiet chuckles.

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><p><strong>If you've been following the story progression, you would have known this chapter was coming. Hard to do a 5<strong>**th**** Year fic without the Detention scene cropping up at least once. And Riku's magic screws it up for Umbridge. This chapter was pretty self explanatory though. But there are a few points:**

**Detention on the first day – It's for a purpose. I know it's supposed to begin on the second day of classes, but I wanted to have the detention scene make a much earlier appearance because of what will happen in chapter 13 which will involve *SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER* - Eh? **

**Riku's sense of smell – It's been shown before that Riku can smell Darkness. So why not blood and Dark Magic?**

**Reflexive casting – It's similar to accidental magic, but a bit more specialised. In a way. It's not going to be a one time thing though. **

**Snapping Quill - *Laughs evilly* I know the scene wasn't really funny, but it was still satisfying writing it out.**

**Well, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter somewhat. Again, sorry it took so long for me to get this up. Chapter 12 will take a while with exams coming up, so please be patient.**

**Leave a review before you go!**

**Kiri Kaitou Clover**

**(By the way, I actually have three more omakes, two already written, and one is a Zexion/Demyx reincarnation extra which was requested but unfinished. I won't post them just yet though, but its something for you all to look forward to!) **


	18. Intel from a Flame Assassin -

**Disclaimer: Umm… Sorry for not having updated for over four months? Please don't kill me! Just take the chapter and know that I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Harry Potter!**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 12: Intel from a Flame Assassin, Puppy in the Fire.<strong>_

Riku was still trying his best to keep his chuckles from turning into full blown laughter when he came into the Gryffindor common room with a sly smirk on his face, occasionally failing to stop a laugh from escaping. This of course attracted the attention of both Fred and George.

"So…"

"Why is it – "

"That you are laughing – "

"Like you have just – "

"Pulled a crazy prank?" The two finished.

By then, Riku had managed to calm down, and answered the two, "Umbridge's detention utterly failed on me."

Slow blinks around the room. Colin voiced out all their thoughts, "What do you mean by 'utterly failed', Harry?"

Sighing, Riku replied, "She tried to use some sort of blood quill on me. Making me write lines using my own blood. The minute I tried to use it, it just kept snapping on its own. She just kept giving me quill after quill, then she gave up. I think I snapped around ten during that detention."

Hermione, who was stuck in the common room with her Prefect rights revoked, narrowed her eyes, "Are you sure it was a blood quill Harry? It could have just been a self inking quill."

Riku shook his head, "I thought so too until I took a whiff at the tip of the quill when I first got it. It smelled of blood. And if that doesn't convince you, I saw her try the quill her own self. The ink came out blood red, and I was quite sure I saw her clutch her hand as if she had been burned."

With that said, Hermione hissed loudly, "So she actually tried to have you harm yourself?! I can't believe this! Let me look at your hand! I want it really didn't work on you!"

Letting her grab his hand, Riku smiled, rather glad that Hermione cared for him that much. Around the common room, students broke out into quiet murmurs, most of them quietly agreeing that avoiding getting detentions from the DADA teacher would be the best course of action for all of them.

Seeing no scars on her friend's hand, Hermione gave a sigh of relief, before directing a narrowed glare onto Riku, "You aren't thinking of attending the next one are you?"

Riku just chuckled, "I probably won't… unless you want pictures of her reactions?"

That cracked up the twins and Hermione allowed a giggle to escape from her, showing that she too found Umbridge's failure hilarious. Tension gone, the remaining Gryffindors said their good nights and headed to their rooms. Riku too, began making his way to his dorm.

However, the moment he stepped into the room, a ball of flames flashed right in front of him, startled yelps coming from both Ron and Neville who had been in the room before him. The sudden burst of heat had sent him sprawling. All three watched the ball of flame hover for a few seconds before fizzing out, depositing a red letter onto Riku's lap.

Picking up the letter warily, Riku was a little surprised to find that it was addressed to him. He could hear Ron wondering loudly in the background if it was fan mail or a howler, slight jealously and spite in his voice. Not wanting to test it, Riku moved himself out of the dorm, sat down on one of the couches in the now quiet and empty Common Room, and carefully opened the red envelope.

To his surprise, all he found was regular parchment. Realizing that the contents were not going to be harmful, Riku began reading.

_Way to Dawn,_

_Glad to hear you've met up with Wave! And what's this about Destiny? You'd better explain when we meet during your Hogsmeade visit! And Cloud and Zack? Cloud, I know from the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee, but Zack?! Zack hasn't been seen since he left for Olympus Coliseum! Well, at least that's what I remember from when I was still a kid in Radiant Garden. Wonder why both of them got reincarnated though…_

_Anyways, the Sorting Hat's song is rather foreboding. 'Dark, external foes'? If it wasn't referring to Death Eaters, I would immediately assume that this World is under the threat of Heartless arriving. Hopefully it's the former. 'Hearts of Rebirth' definitely refers to us. As for Sky… well, I really doubt that Riddle will actually come out of hiding this year, so it gives us some time to find him. Check in with Wave just in case though. She usually knows more about this, having Seer blood this time._

_To your last question, my 'bosses' are trying to oust the old man this year. Firstly by hindering lessons for students, then slowly taking control through several decrees. Umbridge had spent quite sometime crowing her plan to the big boss, and forgot I was there. Probably by the end of it she plans on forcing your hand and kicking you out of school as well. If it does happen, the old man would most likely have to step in to keep you in school. If this entire scenario does happen, _play along.

_I'll be sending something rather insulting to Ron by owl sometime at the end of this week. She plans on screening the letters, and I have to keep up with the appearance that I've estranged myself from the family thanks to you and the old man, so don't feel offended once he reads it out. Send me the date of your next Hogsmeade with your reply as well, and I'll keep myself free on that day_

_Dancing Flames_

_P.S. Since you didn't tell me who Destiny is, I expect you to do the same for him. Keep my identity a secret from him. I'll expect it to be as shocking to me as it will be to him!_

Riku just shook his head at the P.S. at the end of the letter. Then he noticed something more on the back of the parchment.

_P.S.S. By the way sorry if I scared you with how the letter appeared. I made a new friend and told him not to reveal himself to you as he dropped your letter off, so he remained a ball of flames. I originally had a different method of sending this, but I haven't worked out the quirks with sending the thing to a recipient without burning them. I've only tested them with the twins so far, and while it's worked when it was them, I'm not certain it will work when it is sent to other people just yet. _

_The red envelope is fire proof, something I created while experimenting, and would have burnt anyone who wasn't the person the letter was addressed to. The parchment was something I created while I was experimenting on how Howlers burned themselves up once they finished reading the contents. This message will now self destruct._

Riku blinked at the last word and immediately let the parchment go as he felt a second flash of heat, and watched as both the parchment and envelope burn, leaving behind a pile of ash. Sighing at the mess it made, Riku wondered why the pyromaniac Keyblade wielder created such a messy method of communication. Sweeping the ashes onto a piece of parchment, Riku made his way to the fireplace, chucked the ashes and parchment into the flames and turned back. And came to a startled stop when he heard a choking cough.

"What the – *cough* – ashes?!" came a familiar voice. Riku spun around to stare at the coughing face of Zack in the now green flames, "Zack?"

"Wasn't expecting this when I decided to pop into the fire to check if you were still around," Zack gave a weak grin while he coughed some more. "Been doing so every hour."

Riku gave a quiet laugh as he reprimanded his godfather, "Risk-taker. You could have been seen!"

He could easily see the other give a shrug, "Well, everyone was distracted, and I only popped in for a few seconds to check if the coast was clear. Plus, I wouldn't be me if I didn't take risks."

Shaking his head in amusement, Riku then asked, "So what's this about?"

"Your letter mainly. Cloud was decidedly disturbed when he read it since I wasn't able to decipher some of it. He did explain to me what it had been about though," Zack explained. "But with the seriousness of it all, I thought it would be a good idea to fire call you. Safer than sending it via owl."

"So what were both your thoughts about it?"

"Well, from what Cloud has told me, this means you'll probably be getting a few more allies soon. Though it is worrisome that the Sorting Hat referred to you specifically. That and the fact that this world is at risk of being consumed by Darkness. In any case, be careful. You have a little more time to look for Sora since Voldemort is still looking for that weapon of his, but with the Sorting Hat's warning try and avoid taking risks."

"Like you have?"

"Shut up, I was worried for you. Anyways, what are Umbridge's lessons like?" Zack asked, changing the subject. "Is she training you all to kill half-breeds?"

Riku just shrugged, "Who knows? I skipped the first lesson and plan on doing so for the rest. Hermione might tell you more, though I'd suggest avoiding any mention of that for the time being. Her reaction to DADA class this afternoon wasn't all that pleasant. From what she said though, I think she forbid the use of magic during class."

"Ah, well, that figures," muttered Zack. "Our information from inside the Ministry is that Fudge doesn't want you trained in combat."

"Combat?" repeated Riku in disbelief. "What does he think we're doing here, forming some sort of wizard army?"

"That's exactly what he thinks you're doing," nodded Zack, "Or, rather, that's exactly what he's afraid Dumbledore's doing – forming his own private army, with which he will be able to take on the Ministry of Magic."

"… Is it wrong of me to think that Dumbledore is actually capable of that?" Riku wondered.

"Not really, considering during the last war most of us got recruited into the Order soon after we got out of school," Zack shrugged, "Anyways, Fudge thinks Dumbledore will stop at nothing to seize power. He's getting more paranoid about Dumbledore by the day. It's a matter of time before he has Dumbledore arrested on some trumped-up charge."

"Huh. That's exactly what Axel said," Riku blinked.

"Axel? Ah, you mean Percy. He informed you then?"

"Somewhat. But what's this about 'half-breeds'?" Riku asked, eyes narrowed.

"Ah, that. Cloud can tell you a little bit more about that."

"Is he here with you?"

"Yup. Chocobo-head is –" Zack started when he yelped in pain as a loud clang echoed, a cooking pot flying out of the fireplace as Cloud hissed from beyond the fireplace, "Zack, quit calling me a Chocobo-head!"

Riku immediately dodged the flying pot but winced as it crashed loudly onto the floor, causing footsteps from the girl's dormitory to erupt. A frazzled Hermione, still dressed in her uniform, poked her head out of the stairwell and when she saw Riku and the pot, she asked, "Harry? What was that noise?"

"I was trying to transfigure a pot, but I accidentally cast _Accio_ and the thing just flew right at my face and I had to dodge," Riku lied calmly, before asking the girl, "Did I wake you?"

"Not really. I was still up going over the stuff we went through in the library. I'll probably head to bed soon though," Hermione muttered as she turned to return to her room.

Sighing in relief, Riku looked at the fireplace and gave a glare at the sheepish and rather apologetic face of Zack, who quickly disappeared, giving Cloud his opportunity to speak.

"Sorry for causing that Riku. Now I believe Zack wanted me to tell you more about that… _toad_," one could hear the animalistic growl in Cloud's voice at the mention of that woman.

"Why did Zack specifically ask if she was teaching us to kill 'half-breeds', Cloud?" Riku questioned.

"Umbridge… she's extremely xenophobic and is a staunch blood purist. Many of the laws against the rights of intelligent beings found in the Wizarding World were passed by her, for example, the law that prevents werewolves from getting jobs in the Wizarding World. Occasionally she writes laws that suggest outright genocide of an intelligent species, but luckily most of the time those never get passed," Cloud stated.

"So Zack was more worried that she was teaching us to be prejudiced then," Riku muttered thoughtfully. Cloud nodded, "Yes, though I told him he didn't have to worry too much. With me as your former teacher, and Hermione as one of your friends, I really doubt you would be that easily influenced into that sort of mind set."

Shaking his head in amusement, Riku then guessed, "I bet he wants to meet me during the next Hogsmeade visit, right? Just to check on me?"

"I'll try to convince him not to, but the forms of our past selves isn't known to many. If I couldn't do it while he was still Sirius, I really doubt I would be able to stop him as Zack, not that I ever could in the first place," Cloud muttered.

Laughing quietly at the mention of how stubborn Zack was in either form, Riku then stated, "Maybe not this one. I've already arranged to meet with Axel that day, and who knows what else might come up that requires time from my trip to Hogsmeade."

"He'd be disappointed, but Zack will understand. Though, it does leave us with methods of communicating with you that have a high risk of interception."

At that statement Riku became thoughtful, then suggested, "Send it through Axel. He's recently found a secure method of delivering mail directly to me, so it may be safer."

Cloud contemplated it a bit before nodding in agreement, "I think that would be for the best. I'll tell him that it was your suggestion then, Riku."

"Thanks, Cloud," Riku said, and the blond smiled in reply, taking the thanks as a signal to end the call. His face then disappeared from the flames, the flames itself returning to its original colour.

Riku then gave a sigh as he collapsed into the couch, feeling drained all of the sudden.

'_First Axel's message, then Zack and Cloud's warnings. If things turn out as they say it would, then I had better start preparing for the fallout,_' Riku thought, before mumbling to himself, "But first, I'd better reply to Axel, and give him the heads up."

Making his way back to the Fifth Year dorms, Riku entered as silently as possible, Ron's loud snoring indicating that most of them had fallen asleep during the time he had spent talking to Zack and Cloud.

Quickly heading to his bed and drawing the curtains, Riku then took out his quill and ink pot and began writing his coded reply to Axel on a fresh piece of parchment, planning on sending it when morning came.

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><p><strong>I'm so sorry this chapter took so long to write out. I've been really distracted lately, spending more time reading fics than writing fics. But thankfully Kingdom Hearts Unchained <strong>**⼕6**** has brought me a new bout of inspiration and I was able to finish this chapter. Hopefully the 2400 words or so chapter was satisfactory enough. However, one of the main reasons why I took so long for this was because I had made a number of changes to the timeline. I had to do a bit of checking in the HP Lexicon for information to ensure I was right before I made said changes. I'll list them here.**

**Post Detention Scene – Originally, the post detention scene only involved the Golden Trio. However, I decided to have some of the other Gryffindors bear witness to Harry's return to the dorms. This has a purpose of reinforcing the dislike of Dumbridge, and will have some effects in the latter chapters.**

**Letter from Axel – While early, this isn't the letter that was in the original book. Said original letter is set to appear soon as mentioned by Axel. Most of its contents is pretty self explanatory, except the Zack thing. I'll explain that in a while. As for Axel's new friend… It's pretty obvious who it is, isn't it. But the whole thing about experimenting with Howlers, I did mention it way back in his ItB chapter.**

**Zack was a former resident of Radiant Garden – Judging from his age in the Coliseum, I estimated him to be about the same age as Lea during BBS. The idea is that Zack had been thrown back in time and was deaged when Gaia was destroyed and he landed in Radiant Garden a few years earlier than Cloud and the rest of Radiant Garden's residents, and before they appeared Zack had already left Radiant Garden after failing to find Cloud. This has been slightly referenced in the Cloud Zack ItB.**

**Zack/Sirius in the fire – Early as well, again most of the conversations were self explanatory, some taken straight from the book itself, except the reason for calling is fundamentally different, thanks to the lack of the horcrux. I decided to let Cloud handle explaining the whole thing with the toad and the Hogsmeade visit thing. So much easier. **

**Flying Pot – I **_**did**_** say this was going to happen again! *Cackles evily***

**Bypassing the toad's interferences – Well, thanks to Axel this issue has been resolved.**

**Hopefully this explains some things, and I hope you've enjoyed reading the chapter itself! I know I've been really inconsistent with my update schedule, but I'll still try my best to keep this fic running. Please leave a review before you leave, and again, thanks for reading this chapter!**

**Kiri Kaitou Clover**


	19. Let's burn this notice down shall we?

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Harry Potter OR Kingdom Hearts. But guys this is a double update! There's an omake chapter up next so please check!**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 13: Let's burn this notice down shall we?<strong>_

Despite the 'hilarious and not exactly painful' detention with the so-called DADA professor, Riku found that the week in Hogwarts went on as usual… Well, not as usual, all things considered.

During the week, Slytherin had toned down on the snide remarks towards him and the Gryffindors outside of Pansy Parkinson and her followers. Most of them had decided on a wait and see approach, likely due to Roxas' own stance towards him at the moment. Probably noticing the change in stance of his own House towards Riku, Snape had also toned down on the insults a little. Not that Riku was undeserving of such a change in attitude, because Riku _had _been improving during Potions now that the attempts of sabotage were quickly repelled by spells cast by both himself and Roxas.

Then there was their tiny study group during DADA lessons. He had not expected Hermione to blow up at the toad-like woman and walk out of class. The Hermione he remembered harbored too much respect for authority figures to do that. Then again, she did do so for Divination during their Third Year.

What he truly had not anticipated was how fast Hermione had made friends with Tracey Davis, which had left even Roxas slightly bewildered at the fact. It was as if both were doing so over their mutual hate towards their DADA 'professor'. As the one of few Half-bloods in Slytherin, Tracey had not made any friends outside of Daphne Greengrass and one or two of the less prejudiced Ravenclaws, at least according to Roxas. To see her become friends with a Muggleborn Gryffindor like Hermione had left Roxas shocked.

Outside of the two girls' fast friendship, Riku had found that skipping DADA had the interesting side effect of actually learning more than what the rest of the school actually did in class. While Hermione and Tracey soon left the group, if only to avoid more unfair punishments, it wasn't without promising to join them both during their free time.

Speaking of punishments, Riku had taken to avoiding his detentions like a plague. After all, even though he was immune to the Blood Quill, he didn't want to attend on the off chance that Umbridge had found a way to make the item work. After the third time he skipped his detention, Umbridge had gotten Professor McGonagall involved, trying to encourage him to attend the detentions. What actually occurred during their conversation, Riku knew it was far different from what Umbridge had in mind…

_~Flashback~_

_Knocking on the office door, Professor McGonagall soon emerged, blinking in surprise at his sudden visit, "Is there something you need to speak to me about, Potter?"_

_Giving a shrug, Riku just passed a slip of paper to her and said, "Was told to come see you by Professor Umbridge."_

_He held out the note from Professor Umbridge. Professor McGonagall took it from him, frowning, slit it open with a tap of her wand, stretched it out and began to read. Her eyes zoomed from side to side behind their square spectacles as she read what Umbridge had written, and with each line they became narrower._

"_Come in here, Potter."_

_He followed her inside her study. The door closed automatically behind him._

"_Well?" said Professor McGonagall, rounding on him. "Is this true?"_

"_Is what true, Professor?" Riku asked, suddenly more curious as to what in the world Umbridge had written to have his Head of House questioning him._

"_Is it true that you've been skipping your DADA classes?'_

_Riku gave confused glance, not understanding where this was going, before answering, "Yes."_

"_And you have been skipping the detentions she assigned as well?"_

"_Yes."_

"_And that you've been planting dangerous thoughts in to the minds of your classmates?"_

"_Okay, that one is a definite no. If some of them spoke out, it was their choice to do so. I never told them or encouraged them to do anything. In fact, how would I have done so with the Slytherins?" Riku scowled at the false accusation._

_Professor McGonagall sat down behind her desk, watching Riku closely. Then she sighed as she rubbed the bridge of her nose, "Have a biscuit, Potter." _

"_Have - what?" Riku blinked._

"_Have a biscuit," she repeated impatiently, indicating a tartan tin lying on top of one of the piles of papers on her desk. "And sit down."_

_Slightly bewildered, Riku could only obey and sank into a chair opposite her and helped himself to a Ginger Newt._

_Professor McGonagall set down Professor Umbridge's note and looked very seriously at Riku, "I probably can guess why you have been avoiding her classes Potter, and I have heard the complaints from Ms Granger. However, I'd rather hear it from your own mouth."_

_Riku sighed, "If the DADA Professor had been anyone else, I probably would have attended class. However, I met Professor Umbridge _before_, during my hearing. And I had not been left with a very good impression. She refuses to believe whatever I say will be the truth despite cold hard evidence being put in front of her face. Her speech during the feast had simply reinforced that notion, and I knew that if I stayed with that woman in the classroom, I would have ended up loosing my temper and landing in detention for 'lying' about the reappearance of Voldemort." _

_She gave a nod of understanding, before asking, "And your detentions?"_

_Riku shrugged, "It's not like it really sticks." _

'More like her methods don't work and I don't want to attend on the off chance she actually finds a way around it,_' Riku thought. _

_Sighing once again, Professor McGonagall started, "If you still intend on skipping your DADA sessions…" _

"_I do." _

"_At least inform me what books you have been using for your self study," the Professor continued, frowning at the interruption. _

_~Flashback End~_

Other than informing his Head of House about what books he'd been reading and getting told off for skipping his detention while warning him to keep his head down, Riku knew he had gotten off lightly.

Then Saturday night rolled around and the Axel's letter to Ron arrived as expected. Seeing the red-head throw the letter away before storming out of the Common Room after reading it prompted Hermione to pick it up and read it herself, Riku looking over her shoulder as she read it.

Easily seeing past the insults towards him and the disgusting flattery to the Toad, Riku quickly picked out the key pieces of information that the former Nobody had left for him to find.

Firstly was that Umbridge was making her move soon, and would be announcing it in the Daily Prophet the next day. Second was that the public opinion of him hadn't changed much, warning him to not make any sudden moves that would simply drag into more trouble. Thirdly was something Riku had already encountered, the Professors were not taking Umbridge's appearance in the school well, and Umbridge was going to do something that would change their curriculum or teachers.

Riku did, however, end up snickering at Axel's undisguised attempts at pushing Ron away from him. After all, the distance from his former friend did help him get away with more things. Hermione ended up giving him a baleful glance for disturbing her, though.

It was only on Sunday that the image of false peace began to give way to the beginnings of what would turn out to be the most chaotic year for Riku and his friends.

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><p><em>Sunday, 8<em>_th__ September  
>Great Hall, Breakfast<em>

**MINISTRY SEEKS EDUCATIONAL REFORM  
>DOLORES UMBRIDGE APPOINTED<br>FIRST EVER HIGH INQUISITOR**

"What… may I ask is this?" Riku hissed quietly at Hermione, who had hogged the only copy of the newspaper for their end of the table, leaving only the headlines visible to those siting around her. All around the Great Hall groups of students had formed, gathering around the ones who had subscribed to the Daily Prophet.

Hermione read aloud:

'_In a surprise move last night the Ministry of Magic passed new legislation giving itself an unprecedented level of control at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

_"The Minister has been growing uneasy about goings-on at Hogwarts for some time," said Junior Assistant to the Minister, Percy Weasley. "He is now responding to concerns, voiced by anxious parents, who feel the school may be moving in a direction they do not approve of."_

_This is not the first time in recent weeks that the Minister, Cornelius Fudge, has used new laws to effect improvements at the wizarding school. As recently as 30th August, Educational Decree Number Twenty-two was passed, to ensure that, in the event of the current Headmaster being unable to provide a candidate for a teaching post, the Ministry should select an appropriate person._

_"That's how Dolores Umbridge came to be appointed to the teaching staff at Hogwarts," said Weasley last night. "Dumbledore couldn't find anyone so the Minister put in Umbridge, and of course, she's been an immediate success - "_'

Some of the Gryffindors choked at that. Riku hissed is discontent over the false statement, "Liar."

"Wait, there's more," said Hermione grimly.

'_"- an immediate success, totally revolutionising the teaching of Defence Against the Dark Arts and providing the Minister with on-the-ground feedback about what's really happening at Hogwarts."_

_It is this last function that the Ministry has now formalised with the passing of Educational Decree Number Twenty-three, which creates the new position of Hogwarts High Inquisitor._

_"This is an exciting new phase in the Minister's plan to get to grips with what some are calling the falling standards at Hogwarts," said Weasley. "The Inquisitor will have powers to inspect her fellow educators and make sure that they are coming up to scratch. Professor Umbridge has been offered this position in addition to her own teaching post and we are delighted to say that she has accepted."_'

On the other end of the hall, Tracey Davis was reading her copy of the Prophet aloud, with most of her year mates barely paying attention to her, knowing that they could take their time to read it later in the day.

'_The Ministry's new moves have received enthusiastic support from parents of students at Hogwarts._

_"I feel much easier in my mind now that I know Dumbledore is being subjected to fair and objective evaluation," said Mr Lucius Malfoy, 41, speaking from his Wiltshire mansion last night. "Many of us with our children's best interests at heart have been concerned about some of Dumbledore's eccentric decisions in the last few years and are glad to know that the Ministry is keeping an eye on the situation."_'

"Wait, what was that?!" Roxas quickly snatched up his own copy of the paper, soon finding the part where his father gave his statement, and growling in annoyance at the lies told once he read it.

'_Among those eccentric decisions are undoubtedly the controversial staff appointments previously described in this newspaper, which have included the employment of werewolf Remus Lupin, half-giant Rubeus Hagrid and delusional ex-Auror, "Mad-Eye" Moody._'

One could have easily heard a single thought of 'Yet they were some of the better DADA professors we've had,' running through most of the 5th years' minds

The rest of the article covered opinions of some of the Ministry workers and Wizengamot members, but the students understood that things were going to change in the school, and it might not be for the better. Still…

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><p><em>GryffindorSlytherin Dorms_

A notice had been put up on the notice board of all the dorms, a reminder of the new 'Educational Decree'. However, that didn't stop one hand from ripping it from the board in two different dorms, both holding a small ball of fire in the other as they faced their dorm mates.

In Gryffindor and in Slytherin, Riku and Roxas held a ball of Dark Firaga and Firaga respectively, holding the notice over it. In the Slytherin dorms, Tracey gave a dark grin as she saw the fireball lick the edge of the offending piece of parchment. And the two boys gave the rest of their dorm mates a dark grin in return as the said:

"Let's burn this notice down shall we?"

And as the parchment quickly caught fire and was reduced to a smoldering pile of ashes, Tracey wondered why she had found it enjoyable watching it burn, before shrugging it off. 'It probably wasn't important,' she would think, but the thoughts of flames would begin to constantly gnaw at her, as a reminder of an old friend she had yet to meet.

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><p><strong>HI! It's been another month (Wow. I've been irregular with my updates.) but we're finally done with the first week of Hogwarts. Hopefully things will speed up a bit, but since my semester finals are on… Well anyways, I'll be posting a Halloween omake next since it's a double update today. It's not a canon chapter, since strangely enough, there wasn't a Halloween incident in Book 5 (Riku gets a break!), but I've already written it, covering similar things to the Valentine Omake(So you all get to see Sora. Yay!). Anyways, explanations:<strong>

**Skipping most of chapter 13 and 14 – They aren't really important. But the important bits are covered in a flashback and a short summary. **

**Mione returning to class, friends with Tracey – She needs to remain a Prefect. And Tracey… Well, you begin to notice her **_**changing**_**. Not much, but its there. You all know why (Mock whispers: **_**She's Xion**_**).**

**Letter – Contents are the same. Just read chapter 14 of OotP. I just interpreted things differently.**

**Newspaper - I took about a 75% of the thing and inserted it in. I just had more than simply Riku reacting to it!**

**Notice burning – The Gryffs aren't exactly happy. While the firsties are still pretty unaffected, most of the upper years are. Riku is just expressing his displeasure with a Dark Firaga. As for Roxas and Tracey… well, both are unintentionally channeling their inner Axel. Tracey catches herself and wonders why she acted like that and Roxas goes with the flow.**

**Not too many key events, but the Notice Burning was the most important this chapter. Along with a key part of Tracey's memories being unlocked! Please leave a review before you leave, and again, thanks for reading this chapter!**

**Kiri Kaitou Clover **

**By the way… Check the next chapter! It's the Halloween Special!**


	20. Halloween Omake - Halloween Shenanigans

**Kiri: HI EVERYONE! Its Halloween, and while a Halloween incident isn't exactly canon for year 5 (nor does it really fit in with most of the fic) I thought it would be fun to add this little omake, and give you all a little Sora before he's set to appear in Year 6! Like the Valentine's Day chapter, the Year 6 shenanigan will allude to a future chapter that WILL happen in year 6, just not on Halloween. This chapter is more funny than scary, but I hope you all will have fun with it! **

**Have a Happy Halloween!**

**Oh, and mizzrazz72? Thanks for the 150th review!**

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><p><span><strong>Halloween Shenanigans<strong>

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><p>On Halloween, it wasn't often that the Hogwarts students dressed up in costumes like one would in the Muggle World. Of course, the Muggleborn students sometimes kept the tradition, but once in a while, some others joined in on the fun. Sometimes however, the occasional odd outfits make their appearances…<p>

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><p><em><strong>Halloween Year 1971<strong>_

Remus sighed as he combed his spikey blond hair and stared at his green eyes in the mirror. While he hated that his eyes had become so much like Sephiroth's, he also didn't really mind, since the color hid the fact that he was a werewolf from those prejudiced against his kind, forcefully turned or not.

Turning to the bed, Remus lifted up the outfit he had chosen to wear that night. It had taken him several late nights to gather materials to make it, and several more to find a spell to change them into fabrics before sewing it together by hand. But he now had a smaller copy of the outfit he wore after Meteor. One that fit his scrawny self at the moment.

Next to the outfit laid a buster sword that had its edge dulled, borrowed from one of the rooms he had found while exploring Hogwarts. How a buster sword found its way there, Remus had no clue, but at least his outfit would be somewhat complete.

That Halloween dinner, Remus Lupin disappeared from Hogwarts for the night, and Cloud Strife walked the earth once more. Only one Sirius Black wondered why the oddly dressed blond looked so familiar.

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><p><em><strong>Halloween Year 1975<strong>_

Sirius had a problem. He had finally gotten a version of his old SOLDIER uniform from Madam Malkins in time for Halloween. Only thing was, he was missing a buster sword. He _had_ ordered one to be made by the goblins back when he was younger and still had trouble discerning between memories.

However, because he ran away from home, his mother probably blocked all access to the Black Vaults. He could have easily asked Narcissa or Andromeda to withdraw it, but being Halloween itself, there was simply no time for him to collect it. Thus, he currently lacked the sword he needed to complete his outfit.

Then again...

Sirius quickly stole one of the swords from the armours lining the hallways, and using a permanent transfiguration spell (He learnt it from Remus), he turned it into a copy of his original sword when he first got into SOLDIER. He then rushed into his uniform, removed the glamour and contacts, equipped the sword and ran off to the Great Hall.

And as he ran off, Sirius never did see a blond, spikey haired Remus walk into the Gryffindor boys' dorm holding a helmet reminiscent to what the Shinra Infantry wore under his arms. Nor did Remus catch sight of one Zackery Fair flirting with the fourth year Ravenclaws as he tried to stop himself from constantly bumping into people in the Great Hall while in his former Infantry uniform. It wasn't Remus' fault since he had not worn anything similar to the helmet for the past few years!

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><p><em><strong>Halloween Year 1991 and 1993<strong>_

Percy Weasley was known for being a spoil sport. At least, that's what Ron thought of him. But when he disappeared from almost everyone's view that Halloween evening, most didn't know what to think of it.

When I said almost, I meant that only one person recognized Percy.

"Oh for goodness sake, I thought this ended with the Marauders!" Professor McGonagall groaned as she finally found Percy Weasley thanks to casting a Point Me spell. Four years of constantly trying to find Remus Lupin while he was under a costume or disguise during Halloween, and then trying to find both Remus and Sirius Black while their appearances had changed for the remaining three, had pretty much run McGonagall ragged every time Halloween came by. No one paid her any mind though, thinking she was referring to the Weasley Twins again.

Percy had removed his glamour for the night, and had opted to dress in the outfit he wore back in Radiant Garden. And while some stared at the oddly muggle outfit, most didn't really pay him any mind.

Of course, his effort had gone to waste when Professor Quirrel barged in screaming about a troll. Percy was determined to try again on a different Halloween when he was sure there would be no interruptions.

In his Seventh Year, Percy decided maybe it was time to try again. This time, he went for the Organization cloak and his old teardrop tattoos. He had also finally managed to summon his Chakrams, and decided to bring it along with him. Dropping the glamour and removing his contacts, he made his way out into the Great Hall. He snickered as he saw his Head of House groan at the sight of his true appearance, knowing that she probably recognised him.

Approaching the Ravenclaw table, Percy quietly snuck up on the unsuspecting Luna Lovegood. The other Ravenclaws didn't give him a way, which annoyed Percy at how they kept treating the blond badly due to her quirks. As he stood behind her, Percy then whispered, "Boo."

It was enough for Luna to squeak out in surprise, and when she turned around, she gave a happy laugh when she saw Axel instead of Percy.

"So, little witch, shall I be your guard once again?" Axel gave a small smirk as he joked, offering his hand to Luna.

Giving an amused giggle, Luna took the offered hand and followed him, prompting several jealous glares from the Ravenclaw girls.

Wandering among the students, Cloud, in his outfit from back when he was under Hades' contract, with both the wing and clawed hand, stared at the red head, his mind wondering if he was Reno, or if he was a real member of Organisation XIII. Harry stared at the red head as well, wondering why he was somewhat annoyed. And as for Draco Malfoy, he wondered where the surge of jealousy came from, jealousy directed at the blond second year.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Halloween Year 1995<strong>_

Riku, Roxas, and Xion listened to Naminé recount what Axel had done for his last Halloween in Hogwarts, and the four were determined to do something similar.

On Halloween, everyone looked at Riku, Roxas and Xion warily as they walked around in the Organisation cloaks. Riku himself was blindfolded, yet he seemed to know where everything was, managing to avoid bumping into people as he walked.

At the Slytherin table, Roxas and Xion were both regarded with wary eyes, as the cloaks closely resembled those of most of their Death Eater parents. The two, amusingly enough, had to constantly reassure the group that they hadn't taken the mark. Of course, with the misunderstanding cleared, everyone laughed along quite happily.

At the Ravenclaw table, something more frightening had occurred. One Luna Lovegood, had decided to wear a ghostly white dress, applied makeup that made her look ghostly pale, and managed to find a spell that caused her to levitate. This had pretty much prompted all of her bullies to pale and begin begging for forgiveness, thinking that she had committed suicide and had come back to haunt them. Naminé was inwardly praising herself for somewhat pulling off the Seventh Wonder of Twilight Town without even needing a haunted mansion.

At the Gryffindor table, everyone stared. Why? Because Riku was eating his food, without removing his blindfold, doing it as if he had done so all his life. This baffled all of the Lions, wondering what in the world was going on.

At the High Table, Professor McGonagall sighed in relief that at least the four hadn't done something as drastic as completely changing their appearances.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Halloween Year 1996<strong>_

Everyone looked at Sora's outfit and screamed.

"_VAMPIRE! AAAAAAHHHHH!_"

Of course, the pale skin, fanged teeth, and bat wings of Sora's Halloween Town form didn't help at all. Everyone was running scared, several wands were pointed at Sora, and Riku, who had decided to go in his Dark Form outfit, and Roxas, who simply decided to go with his Twilight Town outfit, stood protectively in front of Sora.

Who had begun to tear.

And a quiet sob escaped from him.

That immediately prompted Roxas to begin casting _Expelliarmus_ at all those threatening his Other, while Riku quickly comforted his lover, muttering to Sora that it wasn't his fault that people didn't seem to find his outfit interesting. Of course, this led to Sora asking if Riku found his form scary, which prompted Riku to remind Sora that some Nightmares were scarier, causing Sora to give a watery laugh.

All this happened while Roxas dealt with attacker after attacker.

"WILL YOU TWO STOP MAKING LOVEY-DOVEY LOOKS AT EACH OTHER AND HELP ME STOP THEM FROM ATTACKING ALREADY!"

Of course, Professor McGonagall drank herself under the table trying to forget the sheer destruction the misunderstanding caused that Halloween.

* * *

><p><strong>Kiri: ...<strong>

**Kiri: ...**

**Kiri: ...**

**Kiri: ...**

**Kiri: ...**

**Kiri: ...**

**Kiri: ...**

**Kiri: ...**

**Kiri: ...**

**Kiri: Boo.**

**Leave a review on your way out if you enjoyed the omake!**


	21. Training Time

**Hey guys! Wow… This is late. Yeah, I hadn't been in the mood or had the time to actually write this chapter out until now. Had a job for most of January, and December I was dealing with a very annoying cold. Then came the Lunar New Year celebrations.**

**On another note: This may be the last chapter I'll be writing for a very long while. I haven't exactly been doing very well with my studies as of the late. And my father just revealed to me our current financial situation. It's not good. I'll probably still be around leaving reviews or what not, but I really don't think I'll have the time (or privacy) to post a new chapter anytime soon. Nor will I have the time and luxury I had to write said new chapters. I'll probably sneak in a few when my parents aren't around, but most of the time will mostly be dedicated to studying from now on.**

**Okay, enough with the depressing stuff. There's quite a bit of time skips, just to warn you, as this chapter is covering quite a few events, both major and minor ones. And hopefully it is enough content wise to keep you all satisfied till I'm able to update again. Now on to the story!**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Chapter 14: Training Time<strong>_

During the months following the announcement of Umbridge's newly gained position and privileges, one could have easily said that it went from order to anarchy, with Umbridge trying her best to instill order, while some students went around sowing the seeds of chaos, either openly, or from the shadows. That said, it was only during Umbridge's sessions that rebellion was incited, if only to spite her.

But during the first few weeks after the educational decree was passed, many had considered it the calm before the storm of chaos that was to descend on Hogwarts.

* * *

><p>The first class Hermione had been present for an inspection together with Harry was their Tuesday Transfiguration class. From what she had heard, the 5th Year Divination class and 7th Year Charms had been inspected. She hadn't expected another 5th year class to be inspected so soon. Then again, considering it <em>was<em> their OWL year, or more specifically, Harry's OWL year, it was to be expected that Umbridge would try to hinder his learning as much as possible.

However, even if Umbridge knew there would be resistance from the students and teachers against her authority, Hermione knew she had not anticipated Professor McGonagall to outright ignore her through out the inspection. The cat Animagus had continued on with her lesson, brushing off Umbridge's questions with a simple comment or statement each time.

Hermione was surprised that her Head of House was able to maintain such a stoic façade. She did, however, notice Riku managing to keep his amusement to himself, but occasionally Hermione caught the corner of her friend's lips quirking up a little to form a smirk.

* * *

><p>Returning to the Gryffindor Common Rooms from patrolling and noticing the tiny pile of ash underneath the notice board, Hermione could only sigh. Students had begun taking out their frustration over the lack of practical during DADA work on the offending piece of parchment that was the Educational Decree, often blasting it into pieces, or taking a page from Riku's book and burning it altogether.<p>

However, Hermione knew that wasn't the only reason. While it had only been a week, and despite efforts made to avoid Umbridge, some students had still gotten detentions with her. Knowing that she was high up in the Ministry, therefore nigh untouchable, all they could do was take out their pain and frustrations on the only target in the room.

'If only there was a way and place to practice DADA spells. That would at least keep the protests from the students down and limit the detentions we get,' Hermione thought as she made her way to the fireplace, staring at the flames, 'But without anyone to teach us, we might just learn something wrongly and hurt ourselves in the process.'

"'Mione? What's on your mind?"

Hermione would not admit that she jumped slightly at the voice, but only sighed when she spotted the green eyed teen siting on one of the couches behind where she stood. "Oh. It's just you, Harry."

Then, recalling what had happened on the first day of school, as well as their past experiences over the years, Hermione turned to her friend and asked, "Harry, I know you've been doing self study for Defense Against Dark Arts since the first day of school, but have you actually practiced spells recently?"

Harry scowled at the mention of his lack of practice, "I would have if I had the space and privacy to do so. As it is now, Umbridge might as well have control of the school and any possible practice area could be watched. And considering her policy over the use of spells, well…"

"Even so, accounting the past years we've had, would you consider yourself more adept at defensive spells than anyone else in our House?" Hermione pressed, plans already formulating in her mind.

"What are you hinting at Hermione?" Harry asked, eyes narrowed.

"Just an idea I had," She hummed, "Harry I'd like for you to teach us."

Her idea was met with silence. Harry had totally ignored her, going back to the potions book he had been reading, but she could see in his eyes that she had piqued his interest with the suggestion. Hermione took it as a sign that he would think about it, and went ahead to make a few preparations, in case he did decide to take up her offer to help teach them.

* * *

><p>It had been a long while since Riku explored the castle, at least not since Third Year. When Hermione had asked about practicing spells, it had Riku wondering if there were anymore hidden rooms within Hogwarts he could train in. He had checked the Marauder's Map, but didn't really find anything special except one odd area.<p>

Riku, when he went about thoroughly exploring Hogwarts that Saturday night, found it fairly odd that there was a large blank wall opposite a tapestry Barnabas the Barmy. The Map hadn't showed anything special about it, which made it even more suspicious.

So other than scouring every possible hidden room that the Map had given him, Riku had visited said wall on the seventh floor. Testing every brick and every tile in reach, either by pushing them or tapping them with his wand, Riku was beginning to feel extremely frustrated at the lack of a hidden room until a voice startled him out of his thoughts.

"Try walking back and forth three times past the wall thinking of what you need boy – Ouch! Stop hitting me and dance properly already!"

Turning around in shock, all Riku found was the still tapestry of trolls in tutus trying to dance but hitting the wizard in the middle, though he could still hear the quiet mutters and curses coming from it. Smiling and giving a bow of thanks for the advice, Riku began focusing his thoughts as he paced back and forth past the wall.

'I need a training room, I need a training room, I need a training room,' Riku focused, then looked up when he heard the creak of wooden doors nearby. Turning to the wall, he could only blink in surprise as the hidden room he had been looking for showed itself.

Slowly opening the doors, Riku froze when he found himself staring at a perfect replica of the training grounds of the restored Land of Departure. Staring at the room, he wondered out loud, "Is this like Castle Oblivion, using our memories to form rooms?"

Feeling the hum of magic in the air in reply surprised Riku, leaving him wondering if it was sentient, to which he responded, "Do you take the form of the memories closest to what we request or require?"

The hum of magic came again, as if in agreement. Riku then smiled, walked out of the doors and said, "I'll be back tomorrow night," Then closed the doors.

The next night and the nights after, Riku returned to the sentient room, training his skills with the Keyblade and wand, while occasionally asking the room to help repair the targets. Roxas and Naminé soon joined him once he told them, and the three were finally able to train using their spells and Keyblades without worry.

* * *

><p>It was a little more than a week later that Riku was met with Hermione once again asking him to teach.<p>

If he had to be honest with himself, Riku was keen on the idea. After all, it would not be the first time he had to teach someone. In fact, even while training in the Room of Requirement (He had gotten the name of the room out of the wizard in the tapestry), he had found his thoughts occasionally straying to possible lesson plans only for Roxas to scowl at him.

Reason for the scowl being the appearance of a table full of books right in between the two sparring Keyblade wielders. All Riku could do was sigh and request the Room to remove the books whenever it happened.

It was only when Naminé began to take notice of how distracted he was and coaxing the situation out of him that he decided that maybe the idea of teaching students themselves would be a good idea. The airy blond admitted that she was having trouble casting the defensive spells that Umbridge had been teaching yet not demonstrating or letting them practice.

Roxas, who continued to skip with him, had agreed that if it weren't for the fact that his mother had occasionally coached him that summer on spells to expect during their Fifth Year, he would have been just as lost as Naminé while simply studying textbooks without practicing the spells.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Riku then asked Hermione, "Who were you planning on having me teach Hermione?"

"What do you mean?"

"Who are you planning to invite? Is it year specific? House specific? Or am I allowed to choose who I would like to invite if I do agree to teach?"

"I already have a list of interested people Harry. At least, those outside of Slytherin," Hermione sighed, "I haven't been able to ask Daphne and Tracey in private yet since I didn't want to draw more attention, but I was hoping you could handle it while I look for others."

"How big is this group exactly Hermione?" Riku asked, knowing that this was going to be on a much larger scale than he expected. Handing over a sheet of parchment, Hermione crossed her fingers behind her back as Riku read it.

He put down the paper with a sigh and muttered, "At least give the Seventh Years a heads up that they'll be helping me teach the younger years."

"So you agree?!" Hermione cheered. Smiling at his friend's enthusiasm, Riku then asked, "So are we holding a meeting about this then?"

"Yes. I'll inform the ones who are interested and give the Seventh Years some notice," Hermione stated.

"And I'll handle the Slytherins. Hopefully Draco will be willing to give me a hand at spreading the word," Riku smirked.

* * *

><p><em>Way to Dawn,<em>

_Got Hogsmead off. Will see you and Destiny inside Honeydukes instead. Less suspicious._

_Dancing Flames_

_P.S. My friend wanted to say hi to you, so if you have a reply you can send it through him! (Because I still haven't gotten my other mailing method to stop burning my hair when ever the twins test it. I swear they are messing with me right now.)_

* * *

><p><em>Dancing Flames,<em>

_I have no idea how you got the old goat's phoenix to become your familiar, but I congratulate you for pulling it off anyways. (He loves sitting in a burning fireplace by the way. And its good camouflage.)_

_Some new developments though. We're currently planning a secret Defense Club under the Toad's nose, mainly because discontent within the dorms is becoming a little more obvious. Destiny, Wave and I may be late as first meeting is this Hogsmead. And Honeydukes might be a better choice, since we are inviting some other snakes along to this meeting. See you there._

_Way to Dawn_

_P.S. Do you have any Defense books you can send me via your friend? Thanks._

* * *

><p><em>Way to Dawn,<em>

_You are lucky I'm on your side or else I would have reported this to someone already. Defying the toad like that is asking for trouble! Anyways just a suggestion, the Three Broomsticks has private function rooms that are open if guests request it. _

_Dancing Flames_

_P.S. Batch of self destruct parchments and burn inducing envelopes sent along with your books. Instructions included. _

* * *

><p><em>?, ?th September<br>Room of Requirement_

"So the secret Defense group is a go then?"

"Willing to help convince your fellow snakes to join in, Roxas?"

"Some of our Fifth Years only. Those outside of our year don't really trust you much, but were willing to adopt our stance towards you."

"Any names?"

"I guess expect Davis, Greengrass, Nott, Blaise and I to be there."

"And you Naminé?"

"Hermione was asking around Ravenclaw for a while, and she already invited me."

"Guess all that's left is to get everyone's schedule, prepare lesson plans, and… Tell Hermione that we have a training room ready."

"She's going to be upset that you kept something this big a secret you know."

"Shut up Roxas."

* * *

><p>"So did they agree to come, Harry?" Hermione asked<p>

"Only the Fifth Years in Draco's group," Riku informed her as he continued to write down notes for his lesson plans, "Where are you holding the meeting? The Three Broomsticks?"

"I was thinking of using Hog's Head. Not many students go there so there is less opportunity for us to get eavesdropped on… What?" Hermione started before stopping when she saw the disbelieving look on Riku's face.

"Hermione, using a usually empty tavern for a meeting is just asking for people to try and spy on us. Not to mention a group of students meeting in secret is already suspicious enough," Riku sighed, while Hermione blanched, realizing that her lack of foresight.

"Then where should we meet? There weren't many places that could hold our amount that I could find!" Hermione asked, worrying.

"The Three Broomsticks. I heard from a friend of mine that Madam Rosemerta has a few function rooms for use. Might be a better idea since it won't look as suspicious with so many other students around," Riku suggested, recalling Axel's own suggestion to use the place instead.

Calming down, Hermione looked at her friend and asked, "Can you contact Madam Rosemerta and book a room for the meeting? I need to inform the others."

Seeing Riku agree, Hermione ran out of the common room and into the girl's dormitory, most likely to inform the Gryffindor girls about the change in plans.

* * *

><p>Tracey Davis found it very strange that Potter had decided to have them meet him in front of the entrance to Hogsmead instead of at whatever meeting spot they were going to. Of course, it could easily be due to him not trusting most of them outside of Malfoy, which had been rather strange as none of the Slytherins had seen them meet each other outside of classes.<p>

Seeing the silver haired teen walk up to them, Potter silently greeted them before leading them towards the Three Broomsticks. She listened as Malfoy questioned Potter about the reason he had them meet him outside, and Tracey could agree with his reasons.

Not wanting any of the self-righteous or bigoted Gryffindors or prejudiced members of the other houses to know that there would be Slytherins joining them was a good idea. At least with Potter leading them there, they would be less inclined to attack them and just be suspicious. It wasn't anything new, but considering this club of theirs was most likely going to be a way to get them ready for the coming war, trust was essential.

Walking into the rather crowded inn, Tracey noticed that no one was looking at them, nor did she see Hermione when she knew that the smartest witch of Gryffindor was most likely the one who gathered them together. The other thing she noticed was a door at the back of the inn that she was sure was never there before. Potter walked up to the door and knocked on it, the door opening to reveal Hermione.

"Ah! You're here! Well come on in!" Hermione smiled as she ushered Potter and the others into the room, dragging Tracey in as she closed the door. Their entry was met with quiet murmurs of confusion and the occasional hiss of discontent, though it seemed that most of the Gryffindors understood that the unspoken truce between Slytherin and them was still standing. Most.

"What are these snakes doing here Hermione?!" Weasley growled.

"They're here for the same reason you are Ron. And majority of Gryffindor has agreed to a truce while you weren't around, so don't antagonize them," Hemione scolded as she turned back towards the already assembled group.

As Tracey sat down, she could see that most had decided to sit within their Houses, though the occasional odd ball like Lovegood decide to sit with them, inciting glares from most of the Ravenclaws, who all wilted at the disappointed look from Potter. Then Hermione stood up and everyone's eyes were on her.

"Er," Hermione squeaked, out of nerves, Tracey noticed, "Well — er — hi."

"Well… erm… well, most of you know why you're here. Erm… well, Harry here had the idea — I mean — " Potter had thrown her a sharp look, "I had the idea — that it might be good if people who wanted to study Defense Against the Dark Arts — and I mean, really study it, you know, not the rubbish that Umbridge is trying to feed us."

Hermione's voice became more confident as she continued on, "Because nobody could call that Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Hear, hear," agreed Goldstein from the Ravenclaws, and Hermione looked heartened.

"Well, I thought it would be good if we, well, took matters into our own hands," She paused, looked sideways at Potter, and went on, "And by that I mean learning how to defend ourselves properly, not just theory but practicing spells themselves —"

"You want to pass your Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L. too though, I bet?" asked Corner.

"Of course I do," said Hermione at once, "But I want more than that, I want to be properly trained in Defense because… because…"

She took a great breath and finished, "Because Lord Voldemort's back."

The reaction was immediate, though one was not expected. While everyone had either twitched, inhaled sharply, made some noise of shock, or simply kept quiet, Tracey had noticed Potter had started glaring at Hermione, causing her Gryffindor friend to wince. Either she had not informed Potter of her intentions, or he just had not wanted her to bring him into the spotlight.

"Well… that's the plan anyway," said Hermione. "If you want to join us, we need to decide how we're going to —"

"Where's the proof You-Know-Who's back?" said the blond Hufflepuff player in a rather aggressive voice.

Potter suddenly sighed, stood up and headed to the door, causing the Gryffindors to all freeze and quickly beg of him not to leave the room, and the Weasley twins to berate Hermione for bringing the topic up in the first place. It left the other Houses confused with only Malfoy and Lovegood seemingly understanding their reactions.

"Fine. I won't leave the room," Potter stated once they got him to sit down, but he kept a glare on the Hufflepuff that asked the question in the first place, "I won't leave, but anyone who is simply here for me to give them proof that what the Daily Prophet rubbish says about me is true, or looking for answers about what happened last year, get. Out."

The boy just continued with a sneer, "And why should we? We've got the right to know exactly what makes both Dumbledore and you say You-Know-Who's back."

He then shrugged dismissively, "All Dumbledore told us last year was that Cedric Diggory got killed by You-Know-Who and that you brought Diggory's body back to Hogwarts. He didn't give us details, he didn't tell us exactly how Diggory got murdered, I think we'd all like to know —"

"That's enough Smith," the snap of a book closing shut the blond up. Tracey looked in the direction of the voice and found one Rolf Scamander giving an annoyed look at his fellow Hufflepuff. "Diggory is dead. He knew the consequences of a single misstep during the tournament last year. It could have been Voldemort – " Everyone flinched, "Or it could have been something else entirely. Diggory is dead and we do not have the right to blame the one who had the decency to bring his body back for a proper burial. So stop trying to do so."

Potter simply looked rather grateful at the Puff for handling his housemate, then gestured for Hermione to continue. Her friend looked apologetic, but decided to press forward, "So… like I was saying . . . if you want to learn some defense, then we need to work out how we're going to do it, how often we're going to meet, and where we're going to —"

"Is it true," interrupted the girl with the long plait down her back, looking at Potter, "that you can produce a Patronus?"

There was a murmur of interest around the group at this.

"Yes," said Potter slightly defensively.

"A corporeal Patronus?"

Wondering where this line of questioning was going, Tracey watched as Potter asked a question in return, "Er — you don't know Madam Bones, do you?"

The girl smiled.

"She's my auntie," she said. "I'm Susan Bones. She told me about your hearing. So — is it really true? You make a stag Patronus?"

"Yes," Potter replied.

That… Said a lot about Potter's abilities. A corporeal Patronus at their age was almost impossible to do, and the fact that Potter was able to conjure one was very impressive. Her own friends, who were keeping quiet as they observed, were similarly impressed. Chatter from the other groups brought up similar opinions.

"And did you kill a basilisk with that sword in Dumbledore's office?" demanded Boot. "That's what one of the portraits on the wall told me when I was in there last year…" He would have continued if Potter wasn't glaring at him, because at the mention of a basilisk, Hermione had paled, and so had the eldest of the Creevey brothers. Quite a few didn't like to recall the disaster that happened in Potter's second year, but hearing that he slayed the basilisk that caused the whole thing, placed him much higher in the eyes of the Slytherins present.

"And in our first year," said Longbottom to the group at large, "he saved that Sorcerous Stone —"

"Sorcerer's," hissed Hermione.

"Yes, that, from You-Know-Who," finished Longbottom.

"Okay that's enough from all of you," Potter stopped them from saying anything else. "I know that you are trying to help prove to everyone that I am more than capable to teach them, and I agree that I am better trained than some thanks to last year."

"However," He stopped Smith from mocking him, "I am not the only one able to teach. Most of the Seventh Years here have probably just as much experience with defense spells, and I would like if you were able to help teach as well as refining your skills at the same time."

That was… humbling. The room had gone quiet at his admission that he would like the Seventh years to help out. Most of them gave Potter looks of approval.

Seeing almost everyone in agreement, Hermione asked, "Moving on . . . the point is, are we agreed we want to take lessons from Harry?"

"Well, then, the next question is how often we do it. I really don't think there's any point in meeting less than once a week —"

"Hang on," protested Johnson, "we need to make sure this doesn't clash with our Quidditch practice."

"No," said Chang, "nor with ours."

"Nor ours," added Smith.

"While our group would rather not have Quidditch this year, our captain is rather adamant, so not with ours either," Malfoy interjected.

"I'm sure we can find a night that suits everyone," said Hermione, slightly impatiently, "but you know, this is rather important, we're talking about learning to defend ourselves against V-Voldemort's Death Eaters —"

"Well said!" barked Macmillan, "Personally I think this is really important, possibly more important than anything else we'll do this year, even with our O.W.L.s coming up!"

He looked around impressively, as though waiting for people to cry, "Surely not!" When nobody spoke, he went on, "I, personally, am at a loss to see why the Ministry has foisted such a useless teacher upon us at this critical period. Even they are in denial about the return of You-Know-Who, to give us a teacher who is trying to actively prevent us from using defensive spells —"

"We think the reason Umbridge doesn't want us trained in Defense Against the Dark Arts," said Hermione, "is that she's got some… some mad idea that Dumbledore could use the students in the school as a kind of private army. She thinks he'd mobilize us against the Ministry."

Nearly everybody looked stunned at this news; everybody except Luna Lovegood, who piped up, "Well, that makes sense. After all, Cornelius Fudge has got his own private army."

"What?" said Potter and Malfoy, both completely thrown by this unexpected piece of information.

"Yes, he's got an army of heliopaths," said Lovegood solemnly.

"No, he hasn't," snapped Hermione.

"Yes, he has," said Lovegood.

"What are heliopaths?" asked Longbottom, looking blank.

"They're spirits of fire," said Lovegood, her protuberant eyes widening so that she looked madder than ever. "Great tall flaming creatures that gallop across the ground burning everything in front of —"

"They don't exist, Neville," said Hermione tartly.

"Oh yes they do!" said Lovegood giggled, causing Tracey to wonder how and why did this girl end up in Ravenclaw. But it was Potter's reaction to that statement that had them surprised.

"Are you seriously calling him a heliopath, Luna?" Potter asked, amused.

She shrugged, "Why not? He's tall, he uses fire, and tends to burn everything to the ground if angered. It fits him."

"Harry quit indulging her jokes! We need to decide how often we're going to meet and get Defense lessons!" Hermione scowled, realizing that the heliopaths Lovegood had been referring to was a person and not a creature.

"Well, once a week sounds cool," said Jordan.

Hermione nodded, "Agreed. Since we have all the Houses here, I need you all to inform me your Quidditch practice times so that we can arrange the lessons. Now the other thing to decide is where we're going to meet…"

This was rather more difficult, and the whole group fell silent. Except Potter, Malfoy and Lovegood who were glaring at each other. Sighing Potter then stood up and said, "I might have found us a place."

Everyone turned to stare, even Hermione, who gave a strangled, "When?"

"Just after you asked me about this whole thing," Potter sighed before continuing, "Malfoy, Luna, and I have been practicing there the past two weeks."

Hermione stared at Potter a little longer before sighing, rubbing the bridge of her nose, "Just tell us where we'll be meeting from now on."

As Potter described the location of the room, drawing everyone's attention to him, Tracey watched as Hermione took out a parchment and cast a few spells on it as quietly as possible. Most likely to weed out any spies if they snitched on them. Coughing to draw everyone's attention back to her, Hermione lifted the spelled parchment and a quill.

"I-I think everybody should write their name down, just so we know who was here. But I also think," She took a deep breath, "that we all ought to agree not to shout about what we're doing. So if you sign, you're agreeing not to tell Umbridge — or anybody else — what we're up to."

The Weasley twins reached out for the parchment and cheerfully put down their signatures, but it was noticeable that several people looked less than happy at the prospect of putting their names on the list.

"Er…" said Smith slowly, not taking the parchment that George (or was it Fred? Tracey wasn't sure) was trying to pass him. "Well… I'm sure Ernie will tell me when the meeting is."

But Macmillan was looking rather hesitant about signing too. Hermione raised her eyebrows at him.

"I — well, we are prefects," Macmillan burst out. "And if this list was found… well, I mean to say… you said yourself, if Umbridge finds out…"

"You just said this group was the most important thing you'd do this year," Malfoy mockingly reminded him, drawing a glare from the rest of the room, particularly the youngest Weasleys, who surprisingly had remained silent the whole time.

"I — yes," said Macmillan, "Yes, I do believe that, it's just…"

"Do you really think Granger is stupid enough to leave this list lying around?" Daphne questioned, quirking an eyebrow, "If it makes you feel any better, the five of us Slytherins will be putting our names on that list. We're willing to place our bets on Granger and Potter's ideas, so are you willing to do so yourself?"

"Alright! Alright…" Macmillan said, looking slightly less anxious, "If that's the case of course I'll sign."

Nobody raised objections after Macmillan signed and the two Slytherins spoke up. Tracey did, however, see one Marietta Edgecombe give a rather reproachful look to Chang before adding her name, making Tracey decide to take note of her and inform Hermione later.

When the last person, which was Scamander, had signed, Hermione took the parchment back and slipped it carefully into her bag. There was an odd feeling in the group now. It was as though they had just signed some kind of contract. The Slytherins knew it was because if they turned their back on the contract, there would be consequences of some kind.

"Alright, Quidditch members who have the schedule, please stay behind! The rest of you can go, I'll inform you all when the meeting is by the end of the weekend!" Hermione smiled as she shooed them out of the room, leaving only the Quidditch players, Potter, Lovegood and the Slytherins behind.

Potter then asked, "Hermione? Malfoy, Luna and I need to discuss something with each other, we'll take our leave first."

Hermione just gestured at them to go, but judging from the confused looks from the two blonds in question, they had no idea what this was about.

This left Tracey, Daphne, Blaise and Theodore by themselves. Looking at each other, Tracey just shrugged and led them out the door to an empty table before suggesting, "Anyone wants butterbeer? My treat."

But as she turned around to order the drinks from Madam Rosemerta, Tracey froze for a second when she saw a man with flaming red hair with a black trench coat walking past the nearby window. Unknown to her, her eyes had flashed blue for a second as the feeling of flames wrapped around her, familiar and comforting. Shaking herself out of her sudden stupor, Tracey continued with what she was doing, ordering her four drinks and a few snacks to go along with them.

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><p>Following as Riku led them out of the Three Broomsticks and into Honeydukes, where the silver haired teen immediately went around hunting for chocolate, Roxas wondered what it was that Riku wanted to talk to them about. Naminé had no clue at first. Then she asked Riku, and Roxas had seen her eyes widen in surprise. Trying to get an answer out of her was almost impossible, as the blond just gave him a mysterious smile before dissolving into quiet giggles, leaving him completely clueless.<p>

Of course it could have easily been Riku just wanting to spend his time with them, but the silver haired teen had been acting slightly suspicious all week. Roxas had attributed it to the defense club, but since the teen had kept up with the knowing smirks, Roxas knew it wasn't that.

Stepping out of the shop, Roxas sighed as he wondered what Riku was either planning or hiding from him.

"Something on your mind, Roxas?"

Staring out at the passing crowd, Roxas muttered in reply, "It's nothing Axel."

"Well, it can't be nothing since you're brooding out here. Come on, Roxy, what's the problem?"

"Riku has been acting strangely all day and I can't seem to figure out why. And quit calling me Roxy, Ax…el?" Roxas eyes widened when he finally realized the name he had spoken. Turning to the voice, Roxas saw a familiar pair of green eyes accompanied by a pair of teardrop tattoos and flaming red hair.

"Missed me Roxas?" The flame haired young man asked, the familiar grin and warm presence of his best friend and lover causing the blond's vision to blur with happy tears.

Recalling Naminé's sudden exclamation about the description of heliopaths during the meeting, Roxas gave a watery laugh, finally drawing links between the description and Axel, "Now I know who Naminé and Riku were talking about earlier! I can't believe you're working in the Ministry, Axel!"

"What are you talking about Roxas? What have Naminé and Riku been spreading about me? Roxas?!" Axel questioned, confused as Roxas dragged him away to talk, and probably understand how each other had been throughout their years away from each other.

Inside the shop, Riku smiled as he watched the two former Nobodies reunite at last, Naminé giggling as well when Axel was finally dragged off by Roxas, happy for the two.

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><p>In Dumbledore's office, the Sorting Hat awoke as it felt a change. A warm, dancing, fire reuniting with a light of destiny. Smiling as much as a hat could, it thought back to a separate Prophecy it had received along with the warning it gave to the school.<p>

_As the Flame joins with Destiny,  
><em>_the Tide shall begin to rise,  
>preparing for the crash of memories they will receive. <em>

_And through all this,  
>the World shall once more bring forth creatures from the forgotten past<em>,_  
>magic from the most powerful mage,<br>and the techniques to make the most powerful of items._

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><p><strong>This chapter was a little longer than expected (and way longer than usual), so I'm not going to leave any explanations on the changes this time. Please leave any questions about the chapter in a review, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.<strong>

**Thanks for reading and I hope you all enjoyed!**

**Kiri Kaitou Clover**


	22. Spy? Fights?

**Thank you Stormblade for being the 200****th**** reviewer!**

**Disclaimer: a statement that denies something, especially responsibility. There. I've disclaimed ownership of the series used. Happy now?**

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><p><em><strong>Chapter 15: Spy? Fights?<strong>_

The following Monday in the Great Hall, everyone could feel the sudden animosity amongst the Houses, with a percentage of glares being directed at Slytherin, the rest directed at the cause of the problem.

Umbridge had created a new decree, disbanding all student groups. Clubs and sports teams now had to request to re-establish their groups. With how soon the decree had arrived, the students who had signed up for the defence group suspected that it had not been a coincidence, and they had a spy amongst their midst.

Ron and Harry had both ended up fighting with each other that morning, the red head having suspected the five Slytherins of treachery. Harry, having been the one who brought them in the first place, took offence to the accusation. The result could be seen even now, with Ron's robes still slightly singed from the balls of fire Harry had flung at him. Colin, to everyone's surprise, had been the one to put a stop to the fight, an overpowered Aguamenti drenching the both, flames and all.

On the other hand, there was one Slytherin that was completely oblivious to the current atmosphere. Draco Malfoy had come back from Hogsmead the two nights before smiling in a way that every student had wondering, 'Is this really Draco Malfoy?'. The Slytherins themselves had been left bewildered, as they had never really seen Draco's real smiles. Tracey Davis was the only one who did not react with disbelief, the girl inexplicably understanding why the blond was lost to the world, to the point that she herself did not understand why she felt exasperation. So while Slytherin was battered with accusing glares throughout the day, Draco's smile remained on his face, actually scaring some of the younger years who were more acquainted with his cruel smirks or dark scowls.

In Ravenclaw, the older years stared at Luna Lovegood, who was looking at the Slytherins with clear amusement on her face. She had a feeling that Draco had enjoyed Harry's surprise for him a little too much. That, and the letter from Percy that morning had left her giggling. Out of them however, one Marietta Edgecome had a satisfied smile, prompting Tracey to suspect her as a spy with narrowed eyes.

The Hufflepuffs... were the only ones who did not really have anyone act out of the norm. Maybe Rolf, who gave an exasperated sigh before returning to his book. The Puffs swore that he was more Ravenclaw than Hufflepuff.

Hermione had sat down with a sigh, thinking, 'What an eventful morning...'

Then she caught sight of Tracey giving her a look. Knowing the Slytherin would want to talk, Hermione gave an understanding nod.

* * *

><p>That afternoon, Riku and Roxas met in the library, once again skipping their DADA class.<p>

"So… What do you think about this morning," Riku questioned Roxas while he sorted through the multiple notes he had taken down.

Having actually paid attention to his surroundings despite appearances, Roxas replied, "Spy? Or did that woman just preempt us?"

Riku nodded, "Probably both. But how she had managed to get a spy within the student ranks this early is the problem."

"What do you suggest we do?" Roxas asked while snatching a piece of parchment from Riku's side of the table.

"Hermione is almost done setting up a schedule. So I say let's play it safe and wait for a week," Riku said.

"No. That's too long," Roxas muttered, "From what I know, all the quidditch captains are going to appeal to her tomorrow. That's one thing she will expect. However, she won't be expecting students to start breaking the new decree immediately. So let's do so on Wednesday."

Nodding in agreement, Riku began writing down a few lessons they could do on Wednesday.

* * *

><p>Back in the DADA classroom, Hermione and Tracey had been passing messages between each other, made easier by the fact that they had chosen to sit with each other that day.<p>

-What was it you wanted to talk to me about?-

_-Its about the weekend. There was a rather strange raven flying about those two days-_

-How strange?-

_-Peck your eyes out strange. It was really upset at that fast raven for some reason.-_

-It could be just normal behaviour. I mean our raven just barely tolerates the fast raven. Why the hell haven't we given them names yet?-

_-Because we are not too creative with names? And yes, I know its normal behaviour, but it was hovering around today as well. I'm sure that it was preening a little.-_

-So? A

Hermione yelped when a pudgy hand shot out and grabbed her paper. Umbridge just gave her a satisfied smile, "Ms Granger may I know what is this?"

Relaxing herself, and hoping that her voice didn't quiver, Hermione said, "Its discussion notes on raven behaviour ma'am. I went bird watching during the Hogsmead weekend."

"And may I know why you are passing notes in my class?" Umbridge asked sweetly. She had bought the lie.

Tracey held back a grimace as she plastered an apologetic look on her face and said, "We won't do it again."

Still smiling, Umbridge then said, "Good. But that will be twenty points off Gryffindor and Slytherin."

Breathing simultaneous sighs of relief, they both glanced at each other as a single though raced through their heads, _'That was way too close.'_

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><p>It was probably the incident at dinner that dispelled all the tension between houses. Harry had taken to sighing and muttering as he ate his food. Hermione, worried about him, decided to ask, "Something on your mind?"<p>

Harry groaned as he recalled the stress that was planning for their lesson as well as studying for the OWLs, "What's _not_ on my mind right now?"

"A girl?" Colin asked, the younger Gryffindor having gotten closer to the rest of the fifth years to actively participate in their discussions at the dinner table. He had asked the question that would spark the mess that was Monday evening.

Harry looked up and stared at Colin, "Colin, why the bloody hell would a girl be on my mind right now? I'm already attached to someone."

Silence filled the Gryffindor table as they all stared at Harry in shock. Ginny and Ron were just as gobsmacked, even if they had not been that much apart of Harry's life of the late. And with the sudden stop in chatter from the most talkative table, every table in the Great Hall had gone silent themselves, wondering what was going on.

Then it happened. Hermione squealed in surprise and happiness, a collective "WHAT?!" came from the Weasley siblings, Colin gave a gulping "Oops," before laughing nervously, Lavender and Parvati both began asking Harry when it happened and who it was, Neville remained shocked as he wondered what sort of world he had entered if oblivious Harry was already attached.

"You do realise I still don't approve of it," a grumpy voice called out, prompting everyone to turn to the speaker and stare. One Draco Malfoy, blue eyes narrowed, arms crossed, a disapproving frown plastered on his face.

Everyone watched as Harry gave Draco a smirk, "Considering I knew him longer than you have, your approval is not needed."

"And if I still say no?" Draco drawled, wand sparking violently with magic as a predatory grin appeared on his face. The professors had gotten up and began to approach them, attempting to stop the fight before it even started.

Harry had taken out his own wand, prompting many to actually notice how different it was from his old one, now that they had a closer look. Mimicking the Malfoy heir's grin, Harry said, "Then we are going to have a problem aren't we?"

The professors were not fast enough to stop them from casting the first spell, both of which exploded into bursts of flame. Students looked upon the fading blaze in shock when they noticed that both Harry and Draco had disappeared from their starting point.

Then they heard a shout of "Keep your hands of my Other! _Spattica_!", then another shout "The fact that he's your Other does not matter! I was his childhood friend! _Spattica_!" before a clang echoed in the hall, causing everyone to look up when they realised the sound came from above them.

Professor McGonagall sputtered, "Did they say _S__pattica_?! But that's extremely old and advanced transfiguration! Where did they learn it?!"

Professor Flitwick was more curious of something else, "I wonder what charm they are using to stay up in the air."

Professor Snape kept his words to himself, 'Strange that Draco seems to be taking this fight seriously. But what was that spell they used to summon that blast of fire? It was stronger than most flames, just bordering on the level of Fiendfyre.'

Professor Dumbledore too, kept his words to himself, 'Childhood friend? Other? What in the world is that boy talking about now? I was sure that he had no friends in the muggle world. But when did he get a new wand?!'

Back at the fight, everyone watched as Harry and Draco continuously clashed in mid air, occasionally sending a few wandless spells at each other, further prompting surprise from most of the professors and students. The taunts and enraged shouts that came from them ranged from, "You were a bloody Nobody at the time!" to "Who the hell was it that caused him the most grief?!" to the startling taunt of "You're just upset that you spent only a short time with No. VIII!" and a proper taunt of "What, you jealous?" which lead to "No wait I take that back that was not my bloody approval damnit!".

The fight was only halted when Luna Lovegood stunned them both, prompting everyone else to sigh in relief. No one really knew what in the world the two had been fighting about, other than it had revealed that Harry Potter was attached to someone, and so was one Draco Malfoy. The professors felt that the resulting plummet of their stunned selves to the ground was punishment enough for them disrupting dinner with the rather unnecessary fight, and thus left it at that.

They were lucky that elsewhere in the castle, one Dolores Umbridge was held up by her classroom door locking on its own just as she was about to leave it, the door refusing to open despite several _Alohomora_s.

* * *

><p><em>Way to Dawn,<em>

_What's this I hear from our Moon Wave about you fighting against Destiny at dinner tonight? Please don't tell me that it was about Sky. The last time you and Destiny fought about Sky you destroyed an entire floor of the damn tower!_

_Oh, and there's a package in there. The twins decided to stop fooling around and finally came around to fixing the kinks. Inside is something from your Dogfather as well as more self destructing parchment and the new envelopes._

_Cheers,  
>Dancing Flame<em>

Riku looked at the package with narrowed eyes. Sitting on his shoulder, a rather bored Hedwig preened his hair while Riku contemplated on opening the package.

Sighing, Riku then opened it and found… a broken mirror? As well as the promised parchment and envelopes. There was also a note stuck to it.

_A small gift. I wanted to talk this Saturday through the Floo but Cloudy convinced me not to try since from what we've been hearing, things are getting a little bit dangerous communication wise. But I still want to talk. Say my name into the mirror please!_

_Zack Fair (Snuffles)_

Shrugging, Riku then muttered to the mirror, "Zack Fair."

Immediately, his reflection changed into the image of Zack. Zack gave a happy laugh, "I see you got my gift Harry!"

Riku stared at the mirror in surprise, and asked "Is this a scrying mirror?"

"Nah. This is a two-way mirror, I've got the other one of the pair. If you need to speak to me, just say my name into it; you'll appear in my mirror and I'll be able to talk in yours. Which is what's happening right now!" Zack gave a quiet laugh, "James and I used to use them when we were in separate detentions. Cloud reminded me that I still had a pair of them in the house somewhere and I managed to get Kreacher to find it for me."

Riku just shook his head with a smile. His godfather was still the same, even with memories of a past life. Then again, if he got them at fifteen like Riku did, it would have to be the same godfather he was dealing with over the years. Riku then asked, "So what did you want to talk to me about, Zack?"

Riku froze when Zack's face went from smiling to serious, as the former SOLDIER asked, "What is this I'm hearing of a secret defence group?"

He was in trouble, and Riku still had no idea who in the world had been spying on them.

* * *

><p><strong>Damn tired. I wrote a majority of this in two hours. And I have no idea where my inspiration came from after nearly another three months. Oh well. Again, I'm altering a lot of HP's canon events that occur on the Monday after Hogsmead. You can see the very obvious difference too! Point out any strange issues for me will you?<strong>

**Next chapter will take some time, however. I have a prac test coming up, so… wish me good luck! I'll get started once I'm done with that. **

**Read and Review! **

**Kiri Kaitou Clover. **


	23. The Observers - Severus Snape

**Disclaimer: Nope. Don't own. **

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><p><strong>Interlude File: The Observers - Severus Snape<strong>

Severus Snape had been having an intense headache for the past few months. No, it wasn't due to the potion fumes. No, it wasn't because of dunderheaded Gryffindors. No, it wasn't caused by the Weasley Twins. No. This headache, was due to the very obvious changes in attitude of a pair of bloody Marauders and two ruddy children who had mood swings to no end!

Black had started acting strangely a long time ago. When he had been framed for killing Potter _andLilydearsweetLilywhodidn'tdeservedeath_, the man had cried and laughed. Severus had not been sure if it was insane laughter at first, but when he found out that a certain Rat had escaped death, he had seen that laughter in a different light. He had seen despair in that smile, the man's heart dead and pained by the loss of those dear to him. The same despair that had encroached his own heart when he heard of Lily's death.

During Black's sentencing he had been heard muttering several things that was strange. Things such as "I failed again" or "Cloudy where are you? I'm innocent!" or "Angeal don't go, don't leave me alone!" or "Gen? Why aren't you quoting Loveless?" or "Seph why did you kill them!". Perhaps the strangest had been this: "Aerith? Have you come to take me home again?"

Severus had been present for the sentencing. He had heard the man mutter these words out. He had wondered if Black had been expecting death for failing to escape. He had thought the man had really snapped. Severus knew better that Black had expected death for the failure of noticing the traitor, failure of protecting Lily and Potter, and had expected an 'Aerith' to take him 'home'.

Lupin had not been there. The mutterings were not reported; thus the wolf had not known of these mutterings. Severus had watched the wolf deteriorate and enter a despair induced coma. The wolf had talked in his sleep, and similar names were uttered. The names 'Zack' and 'Aerith' had been uttered with love and despair on several occasions, and 'Sephiroth' which could have easily been 'Seph' was often uttered in anger, rage or hopelessness.

Despite having been enemies with the Marauders, Severus was probably one of the only ones who knew them well thanks to Lily's constant observation of them. Which was why he had known something had changed in the remaining two Marauders when Lily and Potter had died.

Perhaps the change was more obvious in the Potter Spawn's third year. Black had escaped. And Lupin, having woken up a few years before, had been given the Defence position. Around the students, the wolf had soft smiles on his face, paying attention to them like a mother wolf would, and did not condone bullying or fights between classmates. Around the teachers, however, Lupin adopted a more stoic and cold attitude. He kept his answers to their questions short and blunt, or sometimes stayed silent. He did not automatically defer to Dumbledore like he did in the past too.

His inner wolf had also taken on a strange change. Severus had watched one of the changes and had been surprised had the clear sorrow and intelligence in those animalistic golden-green eyes. The wolf was mournful, sad, and often howled out to the moon. Perhaps, the wolf was a representation of how Lupin had been feeling.

Black had been a different story. He had seen the man purposefully set a trap for Pettigrew (and not Potter. He knew that now.). He had seen the man try his best to keep innocents out of harm's way (Black had tried to ensure no one had been in the Gryffindor common room before attacking. He knew now that the attack had not been a completely random attack.). The man had kept a cool, steady head, one that Severus had seen many times on the raids on Death Eater hideouts.

Severus had been slightly blinded by his resentment, anger, and revenge driven hatred of the man who had supposedly taken away Lily, and had cast blame on him and Lupin.

It was probably this year that things got strange. Seeing an extremely cheerful Black, who had been sullen and angry at him for the past few months, was slightly disorientating. Seeing Lupin act just as strangely i.e. throwing or whacking objects on Black's head. While it was entertaining, Severus was just bewildered. He had heard that the Marauders had been good friends, but not to the extent of whipping out a book to hit each other on the head when they did something stupid (It was what Lily had done to him when he got on one of his rant modes, while quoting poems at him). They had been close before, but Lupin had become extremely protective of Black and vice versa. Particularly if Molly had been extremely insulting to either of them.

Now, he could have dealt with Lupin and Black's attitude change. But when the Potter Spawn started showing signs of it as well, Severus had to stifle a groan. In all honesty, Severus had been expecting a rebellious streak like this for a while. He had noticed the physical changes, but the coldness and stoicness was on the same level as Lupin's! The sarcasm, wit and temper was all Potter though. At least that aspect had not changed. The boy had become closer to the twins as well, prompting a very frustrating headache when the twins had launched the all out prank war the day Potter decided to reveal his attitude and physical changes.

His own godson had been undergoing similar changes in attitudes. The boy still respected his mother and him, but Lucius had his hands full dealing with the surprising amount of hate Draco had been emitting. All Narcissa would say with a groan about the situation was this: "The outcome was worse than I thought it would be…"

She then explained that Draco had decided to renounce his ties to the Dark Lord, which had started _this_ argument. Severus had wondered where did the Blood Purist his godson had been disappear to. (Not that it really mattered. The farther Draco stayed away from that mad man, the better.)

School started, and an unlikely truce between Potter and Draco sprung up out of nowhere. Severus had to wonder if he had entered the twilight zone when he spotted the both of them studying together, making quips as if they were old friends. Even stranger was when Draco had cast a wandless spell at a flying piece of potion ingredient heading to Potter's potion, preventing it from even entering the pot. It did explain why Potter's potions had a sudden improvement. Someone had been sabotaging the boy's potions intentionally.

Then there was that bloody fight the Monday after the first Hogsmead weekend. He had not expected the two to learn the spell that turned a wand into a sword, _Spattica_, or for the two to get into an all-out sword fight, or the wandless spells the two had been casting. Fire, lightning, wind, ice, and even _gravity_. Sure wizards had two _Levi-_ spells, but none had the outright power to bind someone in the air without a stunner. Even the spell that kept the two boys floating in mid-air was surprising.

Severus was having a headache at the nonsensical attitudes of these four people. And the nonsensical abilities that his godson and the Potter Spawn learned out of nowhere was headache inducing. Add on the headache that was the ministry toad, and Severus knew that the rest of the year was going to be a horrible experience. All he could do was bear with it and pray that the Dark Lord's next move would not cause headache inducing chaos. He could only hope.

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><p><strong>Part one of the Observers Universe! These people give us perspectives of character changes throughout the years. There is going to be another Observers chapter after the official chapter 16 of CTDRITL (Which is bothering me by the way.). A bit of history of the Observers Universe. It actually began as a discussion between me and one of my reviewers regarding two extra reincarnated characters. These two, while they would not be active during this series due to their status in the HP universe as side characters that made occasional appearances, actually had me create the Observers Universe. <strong>

**Now the Observers universe will be VERY DIFFERENT from the In the Background series. Observers can be anyone who have made appearances such as the teachers and students. They can be Order Members. They can be parents. THEY CAN BE ANYONE. In the Background are heavy reincarnations only chapters. So look forward to this mini side stories! (Yes, these are going to be canon incidents.) **

**By the way... did anyone notice something I included this chapter? Its a reference to the first omake AND In the Background I made!**

**Hope you've enjoyed reading this extra chapter! Leave a review as you go!**

**Kiri Kaitou Clover**


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